Amarillo police say an armed Walmart employee likely upset for being passed over for a promotion took two people hostage before being shot and killed by officers inside the store near Interstate 27 and Georgia Street.

The man was identified by police as Mohammad Moghaddam, 54. The incident began around 11:06 a.m. and was over by 12:22 p.m.

Both hostages are safe.

According to police, the incident began with one or two gunshots believed to be fired into the ceiling by the checkout area. Moghaddam then took a manager and another employee hostage in a management area of the store.

At some point, SWAT officers entered the Walmart building.

Lt. Erick Bohannon, with the special crimes unit, said as the SWAT team was getting into place a hostage ran out of an office. Moghaddam pursued the hostage and ran into officers with a weapon still in his hand.

Two SWAT officers then opened fire and killed Moghaddam, Bohannon said.

Police said there appears to be no link to Sunday's mass shooting in Orlando and that at this time there is no reason to believe that this was any act of terrorism or in any way linked to a political ideology. Police said they are classifying the incident as an instance of workplace violence.

Listen to scanner traffic from the incident.

Statement from Rep. Mac Thornberry

"I want to commend the Amarillo Police Department, other law enforcement officers, and first responders for their handling of today's incident. While further information is sure to come, what we know is that no one other than the suspect was injured. Every day law enforcement officers stand ready to protect the public, even at the risk of their own lives. Especially in recent months, I do not believe they get the thanks they deserve. Today we have all been reminded."

Store manager safe

Alicia Langham's Facebook account was filled with exclamation points and comments from worried friends. Langham's brother, Glen Jones, is the manager of the Walmart at 4215 Canyon Dr., where an incident of workplace violence erupted into a tense hostage situation Tuesday.

Langham received the news of his safety from Jones' wife who had made it to the Walmart parking lot shortly after hearing about the incident.

"She was in tears. We were just crying together on the phone. Glen is an amazing man and father. God protected him today," Langham said.

A block away at the Midnight Rodeo, Addison Jones and Misty Kerbo, also family of Glen Jones, held each other while as Sergeant Brent Barbee delivered the news that the workplace violence incident within the store had been controlled and the hostages were safe.

"I'm just thanking God he's okay," said Addison Jones, daughter of Walmart manager Glen Jones

She visibly shook while the information was released. Anxious faces around her of other concerned families melted into relieved tears.

For hours throughout the incident, Jones, her sister and aunt called his phone and received no answer. It was not until Barbee notified them, that they had any clue of his safety.

Shortly after the press conference, Jones attempted to contact her father again.

"Hi? Hi... I'm better now, how're you?" She cried into the phone when Glen Jones finally answered. Her face crumpled into her arm and Kerbo wrapped herself around the girl.

"He said he was safe and won't be back for a few hours, but he will call me when he can," Addison Jones said after reluctantly hanging up. The family cried and paused to joke that their father probably missed lunch that day.

Jones said she never expected an incident of this caliber to occur so close to home and so close to her family. She said when it happens to someone personally, it is as if life simply stops working.

"What it does to you - it's your whole world is coming down is what it feels like," said Jones, reliving the moment she first heard about the danger her father was facing.

Langham said her brother has worked at the Canyon Dr. Walmart since the day it opened. According to Glen Jones' LinkedIn account, he has worked for Walmart since 1992. She said the entire family is anxiously waiting to rally around him this evening when he is released.

Reaction from nearby

Anita Flores, who when the incident began was working at the Murphy's USA just north of the Walmart at 4209 Canyon Drive, said her area was put on lockdown immediately.

"I'm alone," Flores said. "The assistant was here and she went to the bank and they won't let her back in. They just don't want any customers or really anyone in the parking lots, and they're not letting anyone in or out on any sides of the building."

Flores said an employee came over at one point and told her "there was a shooter, I guess the guy used to be an employee over there, I'm not sure, and he took two people to the back with him and locked them in a bathroom. One would be the manager of this Walmart, I guess his name is Glenn. I don't know who the other person is, they didn't say."

But she said there has been no trouble in her area of the complex.

"Over here, we're good," she said, "but over there, they have two bomb squad trucks and ambulances and everything. Kind of crazy. No one has been hurt or shot. Now I do see a couple of the people from the bomb squad running around so I'm thinking they're trying to get around the whole building, to surround it."

Flores said things happened all of a sudden. "I turned around and all of a sudden everyone, their cars, everyone's running, I don't know because we didn't hear anything over here. We locked all the doors here in the store. The only people I'm allowed to let in are cops or people that are already in here, just in case they run out of the store, because you never know."

Anxoius moments

Andrew Ramos said he had left the Walmart just prior to the incident and said his grandparents were at the pharmacy there.

"I just need to make sure my grandparents are alright," said Ramos, 31, as he stood behind police tape in the parking lot of Midnight Rodeo where emergency personnel were grouped up.

4:35 p.m.

Authorities say the man confronted by police inside a Wal-Mart store was fatally shot by officers after he took two people hostage.

The Amarillo Police Department released a brief statement late Tuesday afternoon identifying the suspect as 54-year-old Mohammad Moghaddam. Police say he took two people hostage, including a manager with whom he had a work-related dispute.

No other details have been released about Moghaddam or what may have led to the incident. Police say neither hostage was injured.

Police said earlier in the day that officers responded to a reported shooting around 11 a.m. amid reports that an armed person inside the store had taken hostages. Police later said the suspect was shot by a police SWAT crew.

This item has been updated to correct the suspect's age to 54, not 45, according to a revised statement from police.

2:45 p.m.

Amarillo police say at least one person was taken hostage by a male suspect inside a local Wal-Mart as police responded to a reported shooting at the store.

Police Sgt. Brent Barbee said in an email that "one or more hostages" were taken hostage late Tuesday morning during what police called a "workplace violence-type event." Police said earlier Tuesday that the suspect was shot by officers and "is apparently dead," though no updates have been provided.

Wal-Mart spokesman Brian Nick released a statement saying store associates and customers are safe. Nick thanked officers, saying: "This was a very difficult situation and we are thankful for the quick response from law enforcement."

12:45 p.m.

Police say a suspect has been shot and is apparently dead after officers responded to a reported shooting inside a Wal-Mart store in Amarillo, Texas.

The Amarillo Police Department released a brief statement saying hostages inside the store are safe and an investigation is underway. No details were immediately provided, but police urged residents to avoid the area.

12:40 p.m.

Police say reports that an armed person possibly holding hostages at an Amarillo, Texas, Wal-Mart "appears to be a workplace violence type event."

The Amarillo Police Department says in a statement that there are no confirmed gunshot victims at the store as of early Tuesday afternoon.

The department says officers are inside the store and that there is "no shooting ongoing at this moment." Police said earlier Tuesday that officers responded amid reports of an armed person inside who may have had hostages.

Police are urging residents to avoid the area.

12:30 p.m.

Police say there are no confirmed gunshot victims at a Wal-Mart in Amarillo, Texas, amid reports that an armed person was at the store.

The Amarillo Police Department released a statement Tuesday saying officers are now inside the store and that there is "no shooting ongoing at this moment." Police said earlier Tuesday that officers responded amid reports of an armed person inside who may have had hostages.

Police are urging residents to avoid the area.

The city released a statement saying emergency officials were "on the scene of an active shooter incident" at the store and there was no immediate word of injuries.

Authorities didn't immediately say what may have prompted the incident in Amarillo, a city in the Texas Panhandle. Some nearby streets were closed as a precaution.

12:20 p.m.

Police say officers are on the scene of a "reported shooting" at a Wal-Mart in Amarillo, Texas.

The Amarillo Police Department released a statement just before noon Tuesday saying they were at the store amid reports of an armed person inside who may have hostages. Police are urging residents to avoid the area.

A statement from the city says emergency officials are "are on the scene of an active shooter incident" at the store and there was no immediate word of injuries.

Authorities didn't immediately say what may have prompted the incident in Amarillo, a city in the Texas Panhandle. Randall County sheriff's deputies closed off some nearby streets, including an off ramp to Interstate 27, as a precaution.

Further details weren't immediately available