Reuters: Most Read Articles: Gunman frees one of three hostages held in Louisiana bank

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Gunman frees one of three hostages held in Louisiana bank Aug 14th 2013, 03:03 By Kathy Finn NEW ORLEANS | Tue Aug 13, 2013 11:03pm EDT NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - A gunman who took two women and a man hostage at a small town Louisiana bank on Tuesday released one of the women unharmed after hours of negotiation with police, authorities said. Police hoping to win the release of the remaining two hostages were negotiating with the gunman at Tensas State Bank in St. Joseph in northeastern Louisiana, and were questioning the freed woman. There were no reports of shots fired nor any other violence inside the bank by late Tuesday. Jane Netterville, spokeswoman for Tensas Parish office of Homeland Security, said the gunman was believed to be an employee of a local convenience store, but she did not name him. Louisiana State Police Superintendent Mike Edmonson announced the release of the hostage late on Tuesday in a briefing for reporters. A video of the briefing was posted on the website of the Monroe, Louisiana, News Star newspaper. A police negotiator has been able to calm the gunman, and the hostages have not been harmed, Edmonson said. "I don't have any idea about motive," he said. He added that the hostages were seized about noon. Members of the gunman's family have been on the scene, helping authorities try to resolve the situation, according to state police spokesman Albert Paxton. He said one family member trying get to the scene to help out drove through a police barricade during the standoff. "It's a tense situation," he added. The mayor of St. Joseph, a tight-knit rural community of about 1,200 residents and minimal crime, said residents were in shock, adding that some had left town because of false rumors of bombs threats. "We are just waiting, hoping it will be resolved soon, real soon," mayor Edward Brown told Reuters. "This has blown me away." (Additional reporting by Karen Brooks and Brendan O'Brien; Editing by Bill Trott, Ken Wills and Mohammad Zargham) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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