A downtown Alliance business is open once again; four months after a gunman held the owner hostage during an all-day standoff.
Charles and Ellen Lierk welcomed customers back to Thiele Gifts and More on Monday morning.
The store has been closed since June 12th, when gunman Andres Gonzales entered the business and held Charles Lierk at gunpoint for eight hours during a standoff with police.
Lierk was able to escape in the early evening hours, but not before Gonzales shot him in the back.
Police fatally shot Gonzales later that night, and things will never be the same. "We're not back to normal, it never will be," explains Lierk. "The things that happened during June have totally changed or lives- but it's been towards the better."
Charles says it has been a long process to get the gift store back up and running.
But the astounding support from the community made it a priority for him and his wife Ellen to re-open the store that has been a downtown fixture for more than a century.
"Alliance has always supported us, and we want to support Alliance," says Charles. "So, we said we're coming back and we're going to stay here."
"Because the community went through that day with us," adds Ellen. "So I think having our store open, especially for the holiday season is really to the community as well."
The pharmacy portion of Thiele remains closed, but is expected to re-open by the end of the year.
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