VA - 3 Hostages Being Held Inside Post Office 12/23/09

KaylynnCouture

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WYTHEVILLE, Va. — Authorities in Wytheville are dealing with a hostage situation at the town's post office, and Virginia State Police have responded with a SWAT team and bomb technician.

Mayor Trent Crewe says five hostages are inside the building, including three employees and two customers. Shots have been fired, but Crewe says no injuries have been reported.

The situation began at about 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The suspect has not been identified.

A state police spokeswoman confirmed the shooting, but could not confirm whether the situation involves the threat of explosives.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,581012,00.html
 
People in the area say shots have been fired from the post office. Police ask that anyone in a three to four block area around the post office to evacuate.

UPDATE: Deputy Keith Dunagan of the Wythe County Sheriff's department has been in direct communication with the suspect on the cellphone. Dunagan says there are potentially five to six hostages. He says the suspect in not making any demands, but he refuses to tell authorities is name.

UPDATE: A helicoper is now on standby at Spiller Elementary School in downtown Wytheville.

A local store manager tells News 7 that he has been asked by local police to evacuate his business. An employee in the ABC store across the street says police told them a gunman was shooting out of post office and that they should lock their doors and stay away from the windows. The officer told customers who were trying to enter the store to run back to their vehicles and leave the area.

Both the Wythe County Community Hospital and Carilion New River Medical Center have been put on alert to possibly receive trauma patients.

Snipped from http://www.wdbj7.com/Global/story.asp?S=11723885
 
Raisincharlie found this for us:

Wytheville - this channel has several videos up and has sent crews directly to the scene -

http://www.wdbj7.com/

This channel is currently live streaming and will be again at 6 pm ET - they are expecting a news conference according to the 5 pm reports streamed.

Man apparently has military expertise with explosives.
 
Oh gosh-this makes me so nervous for the poor hostages. Praying hard for a peaceful outcome.
 
BREAKING NEWS: Gunman holds hostages in Wytheville Post Office

The sound of cascading sirens mixed with the sharp report of multiple gunshots Wednesday afternoon as an armed man, reportedly strapped with explosives, shut down Main Street and other roads surrounding the Wytheville Post Office.

According to police on the scene, the man had five hostages and five pounds of C-4, a common plastic explosive, strapped to his wheelchair. Officers on the scene were encouraging the man to contact a hostage negotiator through 911

http://www.swvatoday.com/news/artic...olds_hostages_in_wytheville_post_office/6539/
 
5 lbs of C-4.. that's a lot isn't it? Anyone know what kind of damage that would do?
 
Anyone heard of the hostages have been let go, or if the situation has ended? It's been almost 5 hours since it began..

How terrifying for the hostages, and their families.
 
Praying that this comes to a peaceful resolution with no injuries!
 
From the 7:08 update at the above link...

One of our photographers is close to police near the post office, and says he saw someone walk into the building, and another person walk out. He could not tell who the people were.

So, people are walking in and out of the post office???
I'm confused.

Might have been a pizza delivery. No lie - and I'm not kidding! Fox News reported that the guy's only request so far was for a pizza!
 
***THE RUMOR*** on some of the site's comment section is that 3 people were killed and 4 injured.

I've seen the same thing posted in comments section on 2 sites.
 
Might have been a pizza delivery. No lie - and I'm not kidding! Fox News reported that the guy's only request so far was for a pizza!

Yeah, I saw that too. Crazy.

ETA: Wouldn't want to be the delivery guy.
 
They've evacuated 3 city blocks around the building. I guess that must mean that 5lbs of C-4 could do a lot of damage.
 
It's been an hour since last update on the local news site I have been watching. (Thanks for the link Starry Night)

I wish they would update.
 

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