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Texas day-care standoff ends peacefully
December 18, 1997
Lipscomb is escorted into the Plano jail
Web posted at: 11:33 p.m. EST (0433 GMT)PLANO, Texas (CNN) -- A gunman who took dozens of children captive at a day-care center in a Dallas suburb surrendered Thursday night after releasing the last of his hostages -- his 5-year-old son and 7-year-old stepson.
Police said James Monroe Lipscomb Jr., 33, surrendered to police shortly after 9 p.m., some 30 hours after the siege began, Police Chief Bruce Glasscock said.
Glasscock said there were no terms of surrender.
"He was tired," the chief said. "The children were getting tired, and I think he started thinking about the welfare of the children."
James Monroe Lipscomb Jr. Lipscomb gave up almost immediately after freeing his son, James Lipscomb III, and stepson, Xavier Jones.
Family members wept with joy and hugged each other as the two boys were seen being taken away by police and put in a van. Plano police said the boys are in good condition and unharmed.
Police said the crisis began Wednesday afternoon when the gunman burst into the Rigsbee Child Development Center and took dozens of children hostage. Reports said as many as 78 children and five adults were in the center at one point.
An undetermined number of children and adults escaped as the standoff began. Lipscomb then gradually released the rest until just his son and stepson remained.
His brother, nephew and neighbor identified him as the husband of day-care center worker Kris Lipscomb, who apparently was in the first group to escape the center.
Earlier Thursday, Lipscomb angrily stopped negotiations after seeing a live television report that showed a young girl he had just released being carried away to safety.
Police Chief Bruce Glasscock But by Thursday afternoon police said they had re-established a good rapport with Lipscomb after changing negotiators.
The child whose release sparked Lipscomb to end negotiations was his young goddaughter, according to a teacher at the day-care center.
Police said the gunman had tried to rob someone outside the nearby Plano Bank and Trust Wednesday shortly before he stormed the day-care center.
Witnesses said the crisis began when Lipscomb entered the building with a handgun looking for his estranged wife.
Mrs. Lipscomb's sister, Joan Shaw, said the couple's three-year marriage has been stormy. "I don't know what snapped. They had marital problems, but everybody has," Shaw said.
A local attorney confirmed that Mrs. Lipscomb had filed for divorce.
Related stories:
- After short break, hostage-taker resumes contact with police - December 18, 1997
- Hostage-taker releases another child - December 18, 1997
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