BUTTE – Authorities say an armed man who hijacked a passenger bus and held a person hostage during a prolonged standoff with police in Montana has surrendered.
The Montana Standard in Butte reports the man, whose name has not been released, came out of the bus with his hands up after gunfire and an explosion Wednesday night. He had been on the bus near the Butte Civic Center for close to 10 hours.
The hostage was rescued earlier in the day, and no one was injured.
The bus was heading from Missoula to Billings when the man put a gun to the driver’s head and said he wanted to go to the Butte courthouse. The driver stopped to the Butte Civic Center instead.
The hijacker, who is believed to have had an explosive device in addition to the gun, allowed the driver and passengers to get off, except for one passenger he held as a hostage.
Terry Reed, manager of Butte’s bus transfer station, says the driver disabled the bus and called police.