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<\/p>\n35 years later: The largest hostage rescue in U.S. history<\/p>\n
A live-broadcast standoff turned deadly in 1991 and changed how police respond to crises.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe major hostage standoff is played out on live television. They had actually already flipped coins deciding which persons were going to be shot first. It remains the largest hostage rescue operation in US history. On April 4th, 1991, 4 gunmen walked into *** Good Guy’s electronics store in South Sacramento and took more than 40 people hostage. What followed was an 8.5 hour standoff that played out live on television. At first it looked like *** robbery. Investigators later said the gunmen were after notoriety, weapons, and *** way out of the country. When the television cameras started covering them, they said, uh, oh, we are going to be movie stars. Look at us on television. Inside the store, dozens of people were being held at gunpoint. Some were released early, others were forced to act as messengers between the gunmen and police. At one point, *** deputy stripped to his underwear to show he wasn’t armed and placed *** bulletproof vest at the entrance. *** woman carrying the baby with another child at her side was allowed to leave, but conditions did not improve. He didn’t do much to lower the tension. In fact, if anything, what they did on the other side of the, uh, of the phone, the negotiations seemed to make things more tense. As the hours passed, the situation became more unstable. *** hostage was shot and sent outside to relay the gunman’s demands. They want. 3 bulletproof jackets. *** helicopter and firearms. They already shot me. An hour later, another hostage was shot. The hostages have informed us. That they had actually already flipped coins and divided the room in half. And then began to flip coins deciding which persons were going to be shot first. At that point, negotiations were no longer working. We decided we had to act. We couldn’t wait to see if they were serious. *** sniper fired, signaling the assault. SWAT teams entered from the rear of the store. Within seconds, the gunmen opened fire on the hostages. Officers returned fire as they pushed. When it was over, 3 hostages were dead, 11 were wounded, and 3 of the 4 gunmen were killed. One survived and was later sentenced to multiple life terms. In the aftermath, questions came quickly about how the situation was handled, about whether it could have ended differently, about what led to it in the first place, because any time you make *** decision that impacts people’s lives and, and you know, and has, uh, you know, it plays *** role in getting somebody killed or injured, I think you’ve got to have some qualms or you’re not normal, you’re not, you’re not *** human being.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
35 years later: The largest hostage rescue in U.S. history<\/p>\n
A live-broadcast standoff turned deadly in 1991 and changed how police respond to crises.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\tUpdated: 11:54 AM EDT Apr 1, 2026\n\t\t<\/p>\n