20 Years Later, Sacramento Hostage Standoff's Impact Still Felt

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) -- The deadly hostage standoff at a South Sacramento electronics store 20 years ago was the biggest hostage crisis in United States history and has shaped law enforcement strategy ever since, according to former Sheriff John McGinness.

McGinness was one of the local deputies called in on his day off on April 4, 1991, when four armed men stormed into a Good Guys! store following a botched robbery and took as many as 50 people hostage.

"It was one of those JFK assassination moments; you never forget where you were," McGinness said.

The Vietnamese suspects were extremely angry and made ridiculous requests during the hours-long hostage negotiations, McGinness said.

"They wanted a million dollars. They wanted helicopters to get them to Vietnam. They wanted ginseng tea. At one point, they wanted to talk to a priest or a minister," he said.

When negotiations broke down, shooting erupted inside the store, and local news cameras showed bound hostages cringing as stun grenades exploded and bullets flew. McGinness was one of the deputies who helped rescued a hostage who fled amidst the gunfire while still being tethered by stereo wire.

The suspects injured more than a dozen hostages, killing three, and deputies stormed the building, killing three of the gunmen and injuring the fourth.

"It could have been so much worse. It could have been a loss of every one of the hostages," McGinness said.

Analysts across the country scrutinized the deadly shootout down to the smallest detail, shaping law enforcement policies and strategies for similar crises, including for situations on "How and when to best hand off a negotiations effort, and some things specifically relative to the dynamics of a sniper taking a shot," he added.