Orlando - An armed ex-convict wanted for allegedly killing a store clerk and wounding a sheriff's deputy is holding five people hostage, including four children, at a home near the city, police said yesterday.
Authorities said Jamie Dean Petron (41), of Plantation, Florida, is suspected in a crime spree that began on Friday stretching from Pompano Beach to Orlando in which four people have been shot.
In a hostage drama described by a police spokesman as "very tense", he was holding five people, a woman, a 16-year-old girl, an eight-year-old boy and two babies - a boy, 11 months, and a girl, 10 months.
Police said Petron's spree began when he robbed a Pompano Beach convenience store. Authorities said he allegedly shot both clerks, then began to loot the store.
One clerk, Mr Jorge Trillos (22), died. His manager, Mr Samir Hantash (48), was gravely wounded, police said.
