Two people are dead after a gunman shot a woman in Sioux Falls and later turned the gun on himself. Police say Amanda Connors died after the man shot her while she was inside a car in a strip mall parking lot on 41st street. Police haven’t released the name of the suspect, but they confirm he is dead.
Sioux Falls police say a gunman took his two children from their babysitter at gunpoint, then wound up at a Sioux Falls Cost Cutters where the children’s mother works. Sergeant Loren McManus says another employee, Connors, died after the man shot her in the parking lot.
"Shortly after that, we got a call from Cost Cutters that there was a male holding people hostage at that location," McManus says. "As the day progressed, at about 1:30 [p.m. central], there were four employees of Cost Cutters and the two children of the male subject that came out of Cost cutters, and as they left they thought they had heard a gunshot but weren’t positive."
McManus says the SWAT team entered the business and found the gunman dead.
Traffic is moving again in the blocks surrounding the scene. Police say the next step is mapping out the crime scene and determining additional details.