Irving police kill armed robber who took woman hostage

Police officers fatally shot a robbery suspect who was holding a Cash Store employee hostage Friday afternoon, Irving police reported.

The man, armed with a handgun, took the hostage from inside the business in the 4100 block of Texas 183. Officers responded to a panic alarm.

“Officers confronted the suspect as he was forcing the hostage into a vehicle at gunpoint,” according to Irving police.

Two officers fired at the man, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Yousef Hajj, owner of the nearby Comfy Furniture store, captured the incident on video with his cellphone after seeing police gathering in parking lot.

Hajj said it appeared the man was trying to force the hostage into a vehicle when the shot or shots rang out. He also indicated the shots came from an officer not seen in his video.

It was the second robbery at the store this month.

“We have been collaborating with other agencies because other Cash Stores in the Metroplex have been robbed since Nov. 11,” said James McLellan, an Irving police spokesman. “Eleven stores in metro area had been robbed up until the Jan. 13 Irving robbery.”

The hostage was unharmed and several Cash Store employees were interviewed, McLellan said.

The dead man’s name will be released by the Dallas County medical examiner’s office.

This story was originally published January 29, 2016 at 4:55 PM with the headline "Irving police kill armed robber who took woman hostage."