Here are five key takeaways:<\/p>\n
1. How the hostage crisis began ![\"In](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SAC_086_260204_JV_Good_Guys-2.JPG\" "\\"SAC_086_260204_JV_Good_Guys-2.JPG\\"")
In 1991, Good Guys employee Al Bodnar, center, survived a hostage situation during a botched robbery in South Sacramento. Bodnar is photographed with his wife Debbie and daughter Kelly on Thursday, April 2, 2026. JOS\u00c9 LUIS VILLEGAS jvillegas@sacbee.com <\/p>\n
Al Bodnar, a Good Guys salesman saw the hostage takers outside the store shortly before the incident began. It was around 1:30 in the afternoon. The men were brothers Loi Khac Nguyen, Long Khac Nguyen and Pham Khac Nguyen and a fourth man, Cuong Tran. They were armed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey just started shooting up the place and yelling in Vietnamese,\u201d Bodnar said.<\/p>\n
2. What were the hostage takers\u2019 motivations? ![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/01_GOOD_GUYS_SHOOTOUT.jpeg\" "\\"01_GOOD_GUYS_SHOOTOUT\\"")
A gunman stands above hostages who are bound and sit on the floor at the Good Guys electronics store on April 4, 1991. The 8 1\/2 hour siege ended when deputies stormed the store, leaving six dead, including three hostages. Three of the four gunmen died and 11 other hostages were wounded. Skip Shuman Sacramento Bee file <\/p>\n
As the store was at 7020 Stockton Blvd. and technically in an unincorporated part of Sacramento County otherwise contiguous with the city of Sacramento, the sheriff\u2019s department primarily handled the response.<\/p>\n
At first, Sacramento County Sheriff\u2019s dispatcher Leslie Beach thought the call was a code 211 robbery-in-progress. Law enforcement who responded to the scene of the crisis like Jeff Boyes, a SWAT team member and sniper, operated with a similar initial understanding.<\/p>\n
Law enforcement learned the gunmen wanted safe passage to Southeast Asia where they would serve as freedom fighters.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs they made contact with the people inside, we discovered it was less of a robbery and more of some sort of a harebrained political stunt,\u201d Boyes said.<\/p>\n
3. How the crisis ended Loi Khac Nguyen, left, speaks with Vietnamese interpreter Duc Nguyen, no relation, during sentencing proceedings in Sacramento Superior Court on Monday, July 17, 1995. Judge W.J. Harpham sentenced Nguyen to 49 consecutive life terms for his role in the Good Guys hostage incident on counts that included murder, attempted murder, kidnapping and gun violations. Skip Shuman Sacramento Bee Staff Photo <\/p>\n
Boyes, one of two snipers at the scene, was given the greenlight to shoot should he have a clear chance after the hostage takers began non-lethally shooting hostages.<\/p>\n
He hesitated to shoot for some time. He attempted to shoot Long Khac Nguyen. His shot missed, deflecting glass onto Long Khac Nguyen\u2019s face and setting him off on an immediate rampage, shooting several hostages, three fatally.<\/p>\n
The SWAT team stormed the store, killing three of the four hostage takers, including Long Khac Nguyen. His older brother who was wounded but survived \u2014 Loi Khac Nguyen, is serving 49 consecutive life terms in a California state prison.<\/p>\n
Boyes isn\u2019t sure if the outcome would have been different if he had fatally shot Long Khac Nguyen.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s say that seeing their partner get blown up causes the other three people to be outraged and they all start shooting people on the ground,\u201d Boyes said. \u201cSo now, instead of one person shooting on the ground you have three. Maybe the outcome would be worse. It\u2019s not something you can really predict.\u201d<\/p>\n
4. Who died An officer holds one of the children allowed to leave the Good Guys store on April 4, 1991, after the hostage-takers were given what they thought was a bulletproof vest. The gunmen later demanded more such vests. Genaro Molina Sacramento Bee file <\/p>\n
Good Guys employees John Fritz Jr. and Kris Sohne and customer Fernando Gutierrez were killed.<\/p>\n
Father Dan Looney, who spoke at Gutierrez\u2019s memorial, said that Gutierrez died shielding one of his nieces. Two of Gutierrez\u2019s nieces were held hostage alongside him.<\/p>\n
Fritz had married Gail Fritz in 1986 She said she had fond memories of her late husband.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was a terrific husband,\u201d said Gail Fritz, who is now 79 and lives near Shasta. \u201cHe was a really good cook. He was a great shopper. He could go out and buy me a complete outfit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sohne\u2019s widow couldn\u2019t be reached for comment.<\/p>\n
5. What the site is today ![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SAC_5707_GoodGuysShooting_HA_260401.JPG\" "\\"SAC_5707_GoodGuysShooting_HA_260401.JPG\\"")
A pedestrian walks by the Dollar Tree store at Stockton Boulevard in Sacramento on Wednesday, April 1, 2026 that was once the Good Guys electronics store that in April 1991 was the scene of the biggest hostage situation. HECTOR AMEZCUA hamezcua@sacbee.com <\/p>\n
An image from Google Maps shows that 7020 Stockton Blvd. has become a Dollar Tree store. Past reporting has noted that the entrance of the building was changed to a different side.<\/p>\n
That said, the Google Maps image clearly shows remnants of the former entrance.<\/p>\n
![\"Profile](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/SAC_4089_GrahamWomack_HA_250908.jpg\")