An active hostage situation ended peacefully at Alabama Credit Union in Tuscaloosa, Ala. on Tuesday. According to the Tuscaloosa Police Department, around 8:30 a.m. CDT an armed male suspect entered the main office branch, located at 220 Paul Bryant Dr. on the southeastern edge of the University of Alabama campus and took eight hostages captive, all of which were employees of the credit union.
According to Lt. Teena Richardson, Public Information Officer with the TPD, after two hours, the unnammed suspect was apprehended by police who entered the building and the tense standoff ended without incident. She was happy to report, "The hostage are fine."
This situation comes just more than a month after an armed suspect took 13 hostages captive at a Jacksonville, Fla. branch of Community First Credit Union on December 1. In that case, the armed assailant allegedly entered the credit union with his dog shortly after the branch opened for business. After two hours, police tactical units stormed into the branch and rescued the hostages, taking the suspect into custody without incident. According to police, the suspect's motive was robbery.
According to police in Alabama, the motive for this hostage situation is in question. Richardson said the motive remained unclear. "This didn't come in as a robbery and we are not sure what the movtive was." The FBI, University Police, Tuscaloosa Police Department and the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Department all assisted with the crime scene. "This was a joint effort with all law enforcement agencies in the area," said Richardson.
CU Times has reached out to Alabama Credit Union CEO Steve Swofford for comment on this story. A statement from the credit union is expected soon.
Alabama Credit Union has $729 million in assets, with a membership base of 72,000.
Stay tuned to CU Times as we will update this story as we receive additional information.
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Michael Ogden
Editor-in-Chief at CU Times. To connect, email at [email protected]. As Editor-in-Chief of CU Times since 2016, Michael Ogden has led the editorial team in all aspects of content strategy and execution, including the creation of the publication’s exclusive and proprietary research database of the credit union industry’s economic landscape. Under Michael’s leadership, CU Times has successfully shifted to an all-digital editorial product with new focuses on the payments, fraud, lending and regulatory beats. Most recently, he introduced a data-focused editorial product for subscribers that breaks down credit union issues into hard data, allowing for a deeper and more factual narrative for readers. In 2024, he launched the "Shared Accounts With CU Times" podcast, which offers a fresh, inside-the-newsroom perspective through interviews with leaders from the credit union industry and the regulatory world. He dives into pressing credit union issues, while revealing the personalities working behind-the-scenes to push the credit union world forward. His background includes years as a radio and TV anchor/reporter and a public relations and digital/social media manager, where he covered the food and music industries, as well as cooperatives and credit unions. Over the years, he has launched numerous exclusive video and podcast series, including a successful series of interactive backstage interviews with musicians at music festivals, showcasing his social media and live streaming production skills.
