SHELBYVILLE, Ind. -- A man who held a woman hostage inside a convenience store for 20 hours was killed in a shootout as police officers freed the woman Thursday morning, state police said.
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Police said Dennis McAninch, 34, of Cincinnati, began firing a gun from inside the Bigfoot store at about 6:30 a.m. when officers approached.
Officers went inside, returned fire and freed Tammi L. Smith, 29, of Shelbyville, who had been tied around the waist by a cord that McAninch was holding, police said.
McAninch was struck by multiple gunshots and died, police said. Authorities were not sure whether the wounds were caused by police or were self-inflicted, state police 1st Sgt. Dave Bursten said.
Before the gunfire started, negotiators had made arrangements for Smith to come to the door of the store under the pretense of being handed a new telephone, with officers hoping to grab her, Bursten said.
When officers they tugged on Smith, McAninch yanked bank on the cord and began shooting, police said. SWAT team members then went into the store.
"They were able to grab the hostage and pull her to safety as gunfire continued and officers returned fire, ultimately resulting in the death of the suspect," Bursten said.
The standoff began Wednesday morning after officers pursued a car carrying McAninch and another man on Interstate 74. Police said the car took off as they tried to make a traffic stop about 30 miles away in the southeastern Indiana town of Batesville.
McAninch had been released from an Ohio prison in January after serving about six years for escape and burglary convictions, authorities said. He was facing charges of safecracking, illegally carrying a gun, burglary and receiving stolen property following a February arrest in suburban Cincinnati.
Police said McAninch pulled into the parking lot of the Bigfoot store just off I-74 about 25 miles southeast of Indianapolis, firing at officers as he dashed into the store and took the woman hostage. No one was injured by the initial shots as customers fled, abandoning their vehicles at the gas pumps.
McAninch's passenger, Joseph Scalf, 31, of Cincinnati, surrendered to police. Prosecutors said they didn't know whether he would face any charges.
Police negotiators had worked overnight trying to persuade McAninch to surrender. Authorities had also talked with the hostage, whom Bursten said was "in good spirits, under the circumstances."
Diana Ennis, a friend of the hostage, said Smith, who has five children and two stepchildren, was "pretty much in shock" after she was freed.
"She is fine. She's home with her family," Ennis said.
Smith's husband spotted the family's van during television coverage of the standoff and dropped off their children at Ennis' home as he rushed to the scene, she said.
"The doorbell rang and it was the husband ... and he asked me if I would take the kids," Ennis said.
John McAninch, the gunman's brother, said he was glad the hostage was not hurt but felt police handled the situation poorly.
"They would promise nothing's going to happen," McAninch said. "They'd say they're not going to make no moves because they want Dennis to release her first, and they said they would even give him time after that. Days, if it took, for him to walk out."
Bursten said the situation was fluid throughout the negotiations and that Dennis McAninch forced officers to act.
"Mr. McAninch made decisions that resulted in the end of his life and that is the person responsible for what happened here, from beginning to end," Bursten said.
Hostage: Man Treated Me WellHours after she was freed, Smith told reporters that McAninch had treated her well.
Smith was buying soda and a newspaper in the store Wednesday morning when the hostage situation began.
She said McAninch tied her to a vacuum cleaner cord as she went to the door to get a phone so he could talk to negotiators Thursday morning. She said he pulled the cord back and began firing. Police then shot McAninch, she said.
Smith said McAninch was "an OK guy" besides holding a gun to her.
Copyright 2006 by TheIndyChannel.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
