Suspect holds victims hostage in Virginia Wells Fargo – days after Louisville bank shooting

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

A would-be bank robber in Virginia held five people, including a child, hostage for over an hour on Tuesday, before police were able to apprehend the man and release the hostages to safety without injury, according to the Arlington County Police.

Officers were called around 3pm to reports that a man claiming to have a gun was inside a Wells Fargo bank in Arlington, demanding money.

Police have not named the alleged robber or located any guns so far, NBC Washington reports.

Videos from a bystander across the street from the hostage scene first show large teams of police officers with body armour and riot gear.

Another bystander captured officers escorting a handcuffed individual away from the scene.

One individual told The Washington Post he was in class when his wife, who was with the couple’s young daughter, called from the bank and urged that he call the police.

“It’s very scary,” he told the paper. “I’m happy to see my family.”

The hostage comes just a day after a gunman killed five people and injured eight others in a shooting at a bank in Louisville, Kentucky.

The alleged gunman, Connor Sturgeon, 25, legally purchased the assault rifle used in the shooting six days before the attack, according to officials.

One of the officers who responded to the shooting, new police academy graduate Nickolas Wilt, was shot in the head and underwent brain surgery in its aftermath. He remains in critical condition as of Tuesday afternoon, with the fire chief in nearby LaGrange telling CNN that Mr Wilt is currently sedated.

Gun violence has surged to national attention following the shootings in Louisville and another in Nashville, Tennessee. Last month, a gunman killed three students and three staff members at a private Christian elementary school. Thus far, the shootings have not inspired any new permanent restrictions on gun access.