New clip from a bank robbery earlier this year demonstrates the intense nature of the situation, with a police sniper taking a seemingly impossible shot to rescue hostages.
Officers from the Lee County Sheriff’s Department surrounded a Bank of America in Fort Myers after a 36-year-old man attempted to rob the establishment in February. The suspect took two hostages inside the bank, using them as shields while negotiating with law enforcement.
The Sheriff’s Department released video of the standoff, showing a sniper steadying his aim on the suspect just outside the bank, balancing his gun on another deputy’s shoulder. Despite the negotiator’s efforts to persuade the robber, who was at one point reminded of his children, the suspect refused to surrender and instead held a knife to one of the hostages’ throats.
This prompted an immediate response from the sniper, who took a shot. The bullet traveled through a desktop computer screen and precisely struck the robber between the two hostages, successfully neutralizing the threat.
In the footage, the suspect falls to the floor as the hostages flee. Police then move in, deploying flash-bang grenades and conducting a sweep.
Lt. Todd Olmer of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office explained, “Snipers are regularly trained for shooting positions like these in time-critical incidents. Due to the suspect’s limited exposure, the sniper took a planned and deliberate shot through a computer monitor, hitting the suspect in the center of the forehead and killing him instantly.”
The Lee County Sheriff’s Department later emphasized that the safety of the hostages was their top priority, which they successfully achieved. It was a tense situation, perhaps too close for comfort, but ultimately lives were saved.
