LOS ANGELES, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- U.S. police shot and killed a man suspected of holding a 70-year-old teacher hostage for nearly seven hours in a Southern California elementary classroom Tuesday evening.
The teacher, identified as Linda Montgomery, was taken to a hospital for a precautionary evaluation, a police officer told reporters at the scene.
"The situation has been resolved," said Riverside police officer Ryan Railsback. "The teacher is safe." The officer added that the man had been declared dead at a hospital but did not release his name.
The incident began at about 11:15 a.m. (1915 GMT). After 1:00 p.m. police evacuated all students from the campus and began releasing them to their parents, video footage showed.
A Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) team entered a classroom at Castle View Elementary School shortly about 6:00 p.m. The shooting occurred shortly afterwards.
Railsback said negotiators had been talking to the man but hadn't heard from the teacher and feared for her life.
Classes have been canceled at the elementary school for the rest of the week.
It's still not clear what prompted the man to enter the school and barricade himself with the teacher, and it remains unclear if the man was armed.
