ALLIANCE UPDATE: Hostage excapes; one body found; two police shot

LATEST UPDATE, 6:37 p.m.: The hostage has escaped from Thiele Pharmacy in Alliance.

Ray Hielscher, who was locked down in a nearby Radio Shack, said he saw the hostage run out of the pharmacy.

Hielscher said he heard gunfire as the man ran out. He said the man grabbed his arm.

At least he's safe, he said.

As of about 6:30 p.m.CST, Hielscher said, the shooter was still barricaded in the pharmacy.

The standoff at the pharmacy was preceded by an earlier slaying, local authorities say.

Witnesses say a tank-like vehicle is moving into position in downtown Alliance, and the Chamber of Commerce has been evacuated.

UPDATE: A second law enforcement officer, a trooper with the Nebraska State Patrol SWAT team, was shot while trying to get into position, according to the newspaper.

The patrol said the trooper is expected to survive.

An attempted burglary of a western Nebraska pharmacy this morning turned into a hostage situation that closed downtown Alliance and sent a police officer to a hospital with a gunshot wound.

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ALLIANCE UPDATE: Hostage excapes; one body found; two police shot