Calif. Bank Hostage Freed After Shootout

A woman taken hostage by a bank robber in California escaped unharmed after a shootout that injured the robber and three SWAT team members. During an hours-long standoff at the Orange County bank, the suspect freed six other employees, but refused to let the female bank manager leave. Bullets started flying when the suspect came out the front door holding the woman at gunpoint.

"It's quite an intense moment when somebody comes out the door with a gun to a hostage," Buena Park's chief of police tells KABC. "Those were split-second decisions that they needed to make, and our main concern is the welfare and the safety of that hostage." Police say the suspect—whom they describe as a "very angry person"—suffered serious injuries in the shootout, but remained uncooperative even as he was being taken to hospital. (More California stories.)