Gunman holed up in N.C. CVS store surrenders

Updated at 8:17 a.m. ET

A would-be robber entered a CVS store in North Carolina with a scoped rifle early Friday and took three employees hostage before eventually releasing them and then surrendering himself, police said.

CBS Charlotte affiliate WBTV-TV reports that police in Belmont, N.C., identified the suspect as Edward Scott Russ, 46.

Belmont police confirmed to CBS News that the gunman surrendered and was in custody. No injuries were reported.

Officers responded to an armed robbery call at the store at 1:47 a.m., Police Chief Charlie Franklin told CBS News. Two officers entered the store and shots rang out, Franklin said. The officers returned fire, then learned the gunman was holding hostages and left the store.

At least 10 agencies were at the scene, including a SWAT team, WBTV-TV reports. Negotiators had been speaking to the gunman by phone.

The last of the employees being held hostage was released at 4:07 a.m., Franklin said.

Investigators monitored Russ using the live surveillance footage from the pharmacy cameras inside the drug store, WBTV-TV reports.

Belmont is about 15 miles west of Charlotte.