Police are involved in a tense standoff and least two people are dead and two others hospitalized after a bank robbery gone very wrong.

Stockton police say one of the people killed was a hostage and the other was a suspect in the robbery.

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Police Standoff Stockton CA

The violence began when three people robbed a Bank of the West branch Wednesday afternoon and three women were taken hostage.

Police say the suspects opened fire with a semi-automatic weapon while officers chased them over several highways.

“I could see the car getting blasted,” witness Manuel Gallegos said. “I can see all the little sparks and everything off the car, and actually there was a police car right in front of our house shooting in that direction.” source

 

Officer Joe Silva, a police spokesman, says one of the hostages was shot during the pursuit and thrown out of the vehicle. A second hostage was thrown from the vehicle when the pursuit came to an end in the middle of a street.

No police officers were reported injured.