Texas Burger King hostage situation ends

The armed man took four hostages at this George West, Texas, Burger King.

GEORGE WEST, Texas (CNN) -- A man armed with a shotgun took employees of a Burger King restaurant hostage Thursday evening, finally surrendering to police hours later.

The man, identified as Ken Kraus of George West, initially took four people hostage around 4:10 p.m. (5:10 p.m. ET). Law enforcement officers negotiated for hours with Kraus, who gradually let three of his hostages go.

At 10:35 p.m., Kraus and the last hostage walked out with their hands raised. Kraus was taken into the custody of the Live Oak County Sheriff's Department, said dispatcher Lynette Lawson.

George West is in southern Texas, about 63 miles northwest of Corpus Christi.