Cops Credit Calif. Hostage for Ending Standoff Peacefully

A hostage situation ended peacefully after a gunman walked into a sporting goods store in Yuba City, Calif., and held a female employee at gunpoint for hours, officials said.

The suspect, identified as Juan Carlos Alvarez, 29, eventually surrendered to police on Sunday in what authorities believe was a botched robbery inside a Big 5 Sporting Goods store. The hostage, Allyson Taylor, 18, was able to escape the harrowing incident without injury thanks to some quick thinking on her feet.

Cops say that Taylor opened up a dialogue with her captor, which eventually led to a peaceful end to the standoff. "She knew when to push, she knew when to let him be. You can't help but thank her enough and be in awe of that young girl," said Shawna Pavey, operations support manager of the Yuba City Police Department.

"He didn't want to die that day. He wanted to be able to see his daughter again and so I knew that… as long as, 'You don't hurt me you can see your daughter again,'" Taylor said.