Suspect Slain as Deputy Ends Hostage Stalemate : Violence: The sharpshooter’s bullet finds its mark while man holds store manager at point of cocked, loaded pistol.

A Sheriff’s Department marksman ended a hourlong hostage standoff Friday in Alhambra with a single bullet that hit the suspect in the head and killed him instantly--as he apparently prepared to shoot his hostage, authorities said.

Deputies with the SWAT team had been called in shortly after 2:30 p.m. to back up Alhambra police who had received a frantic call over the 911 emergency line about a gunman and attempted robbery at an office supplies store.

The suspect, who could not be immediately identified by investigators, had stormed into the Shantal & Co. office in the 2600 block of West Concord Avenue, confronting three employees and demanding money, according to Deputy Rich Erickson.

As store manager Mark Balderrama, 21, took the man to the safe in the back of the store, an employee slipped out the front and called authorities.

Finding no money in the safe, the suspect ran from the store, just as Alhambra police arrived at the industrial park. The suspect returned to the store, threw a table through the plate glass window and took Balderrama hostage, according to Erickson.

The suspect, described by deputies as a Latino in his 20s, attempted to escape with his hostage, but was kept at bay by police and deputies in the parking lot for about an hour, authorities said.

All the while, the suspect held his .38-caliber, semiautomatic pistol to the head of Balderrama and “made numerous threats to kill the manager,” Erickson said. A later examination of the suspect’s gun by deputies found it loaded with rounds that explode on impact.

Deputies attempted to negotiate with the suspect, but “apparently things began to sour” just minutes before 4 p.m., said Sgt. Don Craton of the Alhambra Police Department.

At that point, a sharpshooter stationed on a nearby roof aimed his rifle at the suspect. Through his scope, the officer could see the suspect release the safety of his pistol and cock the hammer with the gun still touching the hostage’s head, Erickson said.

“Believing the hostage was in immediate danger, the deputy fired one round” killing the suspect, said Erickson.

Balderrama escaped unharmed.

SWAT members, who are also trained as paramedics, said the gunman died at the scene. The marksman was not identified.