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Suspect killed after taking hostage in Montana rest stop

One person was killed and another injured Saturday in an armed robbery-hostage situation that spanned two western states.

A male suspect on the run from Idaho rushed into a Montana rest stop and grabbed a hostage when confronted by cops, Mineral County Undersheriff Wayne Cashman told Montana Right Now.

The unidentified man pushed his hostage to the ground and fired two shots at their victim.

Police immediately returned fire, killing the suspect.

Cops hunted the man down after Idaho police alerted them to two armed robbers on the run, authorities said.

The suspects — a man and a woman — had pulled off the heist with two others, according to cops, but entered the Big Sky Country on their own.


The suspects crossed into Montana after fleeing an armed robbery in Idaho.
Bradley Warren/Twitter

Police respond to the hostage situation.
The male suspect held a hostage inside a rest stop when police arrived.
Bradley Warren/Twitter

Police respond to the hostage situation.
Police fatally shot the suspect after he fired on the hostage.
Bradley Warren/Twitter

A 911 caller reported watching the couple ditch their car around 11:30 a.m. near a sewer in St. Regis, a community on the outskirts of the Lolo National Forest.

The duo walked into a local hotel, but then split up the caller said. The woman stayed behind while the man headed to the rest stop on I90.

Police arrested the woman without incident.

Multiple agencies responded to the travel center, where the male suspect desperately tried to escape capture.

The hostage was rushed to a nearby hospital, where they are being treated for multiple gunshot wounds.

Mineral County sheriffs are still investigating the shooting and couldn’t provide additional details to The Post.