SWAT Sniper Kills Man Involved in an Attempted Bank Robbery

(ProsperNews.net) – A man, claiming to have a bomb, held up a bank in Florida but was shot dead by a SWAT sniper. Sterling Ramon Alavache held a knife to a woman’s throat at the Bank of America in Bell Tower after he jumped over the counter and threatened to blow up the building and kill the bank’s staff. The Lee County Sheriff’s Office, whose officers responded to the call, found what they named a “chaotic scene.”

Supported by the FBI, deputies initially attempted to negotiate with Alavache, but he began to assault bank staff and put a female hostage in a headlock before aiming the knife at her throat. At that point, the SWAT sniper opened fire. Sherrif’s office spokesperson Carmine Marceno, speaking at a press conference, said, “When he presented deadly force like that, our SWAT sniper shot and killed the suspect. We were in fear for her life and safety.”

In a subsequent Facebook post, Lee County Sherrif’s office said Alavache was a convicted felon with an “extensive” criminal history, including drug trafficking, aggravated assault, and carrying a concealed firearm.

SWAT law enforcement officers are specially trained to resolve critical incidents such as hostage situations and any incident that threatens public safety. SWAT stands for Special Weapons and Tactics, meaning the weapons available to officers are more sophisticated than the standard firearms issued, and they have specialized surveillance equipment that can, for example, enable them to see inside buildings or in the dark.

The most common reasons police will call on SWAT teams include hostage situations, high-risk warrant suspects, barricade situations, and terrorist attacks. The first unit was established in Philadelphia in 1964 to respond to a spate of armed bank robberies as police sought to react to the crimes while they were being committed. In 1967, the Los Angeles Police Department established the second unit to respond to escalating political conflict and race riots, and they soon spread throughout the United States.