Police in Oklahoma are speaking out about last week's hostage standoff at a Wal-Mart there.
A man held a two-year-old girl hostage, until police shot and killed the suspect.
Midwest city police chief Brandon Clabes describes last week's hostage situation as a scene from a movie.
“You've got the ingredients of a two and half year old helpless victim, you've got a mother who has to standby helplessly and watch as her daughter is being held by a mental patient with a knife and you have our officers responding,” Clabes said.
Surveillance cameras at the Midwest city Wal-Mart rolled as the suspect, Sammie Wallace, took a two- year old child from a shopping cart and held a knife to her stomach.
Terry Parker was grocery shopping when he saw Wallace holding the girl hostage.
“You could see the knife. You could see the baby. You could see the mama,” said Parker. “I don't believe they didn't do anything they shouldn't have done.”
Not knowing what was going to happen, Parker sprang into action and blocked Wallace with his cart until police arrived.
“If that gentlemen was to come my direction he would have to go through me or my cart to do that,” said Parker, who blocked him until offers made their way in.
Moments later the building was evacuated and negotiations started.
“During negotiations they try all kinds of cues. We try to talk about his family, his job, about how the child is not afraid of him,” said Chief Clabes.
But Clabes said those efforts failed and Wallace started a countdown to harm the child, even counting down near zero.
“We waited until the last second in our opinion to use deadly force,” said Clabes.
A negotiator shot Wallace.
“When he took that shot he made sure he was at point blank range to make sure there was no ability to harm that child,” said Clabes.
“It's sad. It's sad that it even had to happen but overall i think it ended the way it needed to end,” said Parker, who also said he is not the hero.
“I just happened to be there at that time,” he said. He is just glad the little girl is okay.
Oklahoma county district attorney David Prater has said the officer who shot Wallace was justified in his actions.
