Cedrick Lamar Collins

An 18-year-old who police say held 11 employees hostage at a Tuscaloosa credit union Tuesday morning was arrested in 2015 in a rape and abduction from a Tuscaloosa mall.

Cedrick Lamar Collins is charged with first-degree robbery in the two-hour ordeal at Alabama Credit Union, which began about 8:30 a.m. and ended peacefully with no injuries and Collins' arrest about 10:45 a.m.

It's not Collins' first brush with the law. Then 17, Collins was charged with rape and robbery in November 2015 in connection with the abduction of a 19-year-old woman outside of University Mall on McFarland Boulevard. In that case, the victim told police she was sitting in the parking lot of the mall about 7:30 a.m. waiting to go to work. Collins, police said at the time, walked up to her car and asked to use her cell phone.

The young woman agreed and the suspect got into her car. Collins then told the victim he had a gun, and ordered her to drive to an ATM and withdraw money. He then forced her to drive to an abandoned property off of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, where he sexually assaulted her.

One year ago - in January 2016 - those charges were bound over to a Tuscaloosa County grand jury for indictment. There is no disposition yet reflected in court records. He has been out of jail on $80,000 bond awaiting trial in the 2015 case.

Police confirm he is the same suspect taken into custody today when at least a half dozen lawmen entered the building about 10:45 a.m. and the lone gunman was captured. There did not appear to be any injuries.

"The hostages are fine,'' said Tuscaloosa police spokeswoman Lt. Teena Richardson.

The University of Alabama late Tuesday afternoon identified the gunman as Collins, of Tuscaloosa. University spokesman Chris Bryant said Collins has no known affiliation with the school.

Bryant said there were 11 hostages, all of whom were checked by medical personnel and debriefed by law enforcement officials. "The University of Alabama is providing counseling to the hostages, none of whom were UA employees, and their family members as needed,'' according to a statement from Bryant.

UA President Stuart R. Bell and his wife, Susan, met with victims' family members to offer support.

Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox was on scene for much of the morning. He said even though the University of Alabama football team fell to Clemson in the National Championship game, today's situation shows "what's truly important in life."

"This is a day of celebration in Tuscaloosa County,'' Maddox said.

He praised lawmen for their efforts and said they told hostages' families that their loved ones would come home safely. "They kept that promise,'' the mayor said.

There are conflicting reports about what started the ordeal. Tuscaloosa police Chief Steve Anderson said robbery appears to be the motive. He said police responded so quickly to the initial call that the suspect was hemmed in, and that's when he took hostages.

As of mid afternoon, the hostages were still being interviewed by police and their family members remained at Bryant Conference Center, where they were brought lunch and mostly kept away from the media.

Gabrielle Bennett, whose sister-in-law Katie Bennett, 26, is a teller at the credit union, said she first heard about the hostage situation on the radio. Her brother, Katie's husband, was working two hours away.

"I tried not to cry on the the phone...to be strong for him,'' Gabrielle Bennett said.

She said she was upset by the ordeal, but thankful her sister-in-law, a mother of a 2-year-old daughter, is OK and unharmed. "Of all people, this shouldn't happen to anyone, but especially her," Gabrielle Bennett said.

The situation began about 8:30 a.m. at Alabama Credit Union at 220 Paul W Bryant Drive and remained active. Four campus-wide alerts were sent ordering everyone in the area to stay away.

Richardson said the gunman entered the building and took the employees inside hostage. A SWAT team was on site, some with guns drawn, and had surrounded the building for much of the time, according to witnesses. A helicopter hovered over the scene.

Richardson said the Tuscaloosa Police Department, the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office, the University of Alabama Police Department and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency worked the scene jointly. The FBI was also on the scene and had hostage negotiators assisting.

Chief Anderson said police spent two hours trying to establish contact before entering the credit union. Negotiators had sporadic conversations with the suspect but felt they weren't making any progress and feared he would harm the hostages.

He said they received information that the suspect wasn't near the hostages and that's when they stormed the credit union. The takedown, he said, had potential to be deadly. "Teamwork was crucial,'' he said.

The credit union employees were just going to work, and the credit union was not yet open when the situation began.

Richardson said lawmen evacuated nearby businesses. While the scene is close to campus, classes don't actually resume until Wednesday. Law students and employees, however, are back at work and were told to shelter in place.

Some family members were of the hostages were at the scene. They were being taken to Bryant Conference Center. "We're just glad the situation is over,'' Richardson said.

Richardson said he was armed when taken into custody. They are working to find out the motive. "That's what we need to find out, what was going on in the mind of the suspect,'' she said.

FBI Special Agent in Charge Roger Stanton said lawmen showed "incredible composure."

AL.com reporters Ben Flanagan and Ivana Hrynkiw contributed to this report.