SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Sioux Falls Police Chief Jon Thum says he is proud of how a “very tense situation” in central Sioux Falls involving hostages ended early Wednesday morning.
Thum says an officer with his department who was looking to grab some food came under gunfire in the area of the intersection between 14th Street and Minnesota Avenue.
“Officers on scene then made emergency crisis entry into the building, were able to rescue the hostages,” Thum said. “There was one hostage that was immediately in the vicinity of the individual, another that was hiding in a bathroom and another that had already exited the building.”
Thum says a SWAT team member shot the individual, who was declared dead at the scene.
“I can tell you that when we train officers at the patrol level and all the way to SWAT and crisis negotiation, one of the highest levels of training we put into is to hostage rescue,” Thum said.
South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley says a hostage situation such as this is not common in the state.
“It’s rare but it happens,” Jackley said. “I’ve dealt with it as attorney general. I’ve seen law enforcement deal with it in the field. We have been very blessed and fortunate that in these hostage situations that, in large part by the action of the law enforcement officers, we haven’t had a further tragedy.”
No officers were hurt in a situation that could have been considerably worse.
“It’s a situation when there’s gunfire exchanged with law enforcement, there’s a hostage under gunpoint, there have to be very quick and important decisions made by law enforcement,” Jackley said. “In this instance, the law enforcement officers that were shot at as well as the hostage were able to walk away from this.”
According to Jackley’s office, the suspect was 26-year-old Daniel Todd Augustine. The state’s Division of Criminal Investigation will review the officer-involved shooting.
