A hostage situation on the Lower Wetumpka Road in Montgomery ended without incident this morning.
Montgomery Police say a male suspect was taken into custody and a female hostage was released unharmed. Police said the incident started just after 7:30 a.m. when a man armed with a gun entered a business in the 3800 block of Lower Wetumpka Road. Authorities said the gunman ordered everyone out the building and then barricaded himself and the woman in the building. The female hostage, according to police, is the suspect's estranged wife. Montgomery Police say charges are pending.
Street Closed
Montgomery city drivers will not be able to use parts of Lawrence Street today. City officials say for the remainder of the summer, two of the three lanes on Lawrence Street between Madison Avenue and Monroe Street will be blocked off for up to eight weeks to allow RSA to place a row of large generators on the street.
Capital Murder
A 20-year-old Montgomery man has been charged with capital murder in connection with a June homicide. Montgomery police said 20-year-old Terinaertze Smith of Oakwood Driver is accused in the shooting death of 25-year-old Carmichael Teague. The victim was found dead June 7th in the 35oo block of Faro Drive in the Sheridan Height subdivision in north Montgomery. Smith was arrested Friday and is being held without bond.
Same-Sex Unions
An Episcopal bishop in Alabama says he won't allow priests in his diocese to bless same-sex unions for the time being. Bishop Kee Sloan voted in favor of creating a new blessing for same-sex couples in July during a national convention of the Episcopal Church. Those who support the blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples tell the Birmingham News that they are puzzled that Sloan voted in favor the ceremonies nationally but won't allow them locally. Sloan said the issue is too divisive for the church in Alabama.
Weekend Accidents
Alabama State Troopers say a two vehicle crash Sunday in Marengo County left two dead. The crash occurred at 5 p.m. on Alabama 69, about six miles north of Linden. Troopers said 32-year-old David Ditto Jr. of Semmes was killed when the car he was driving collided with an SUV driven by 73-year-old Travis Lolley of Faunsdale. Lolley was also killed in the collision.
A separate crash early Sunday morning claimed the life of a teenager from Dadeville. Troopers said 17-year-old Angel Wilson died when her vehicle left the roadway and hit a tree on Alabama 50, about nine miles west of Lafayette. Troopers are also investigating traffic fatalities in Perry and Morgan Counties.