Hostages Taken At Clinton Campaign OfficeMan Claiming To Have Bomb Holding People Hostage In N.H.Jamy Pombo, Senior News Editor
POSTED: 1:13 pm EST November 30, 2007
UPDATED: 2:25 pm EST November 30, 2007
BOSTON --
A man claiming to have a bomb took two workers hostage Friday at a Hillary Clinton presidential campaign office in New Hampshire, police said.
The incident happened at about 1 p.m. Friday at 28 Main St. in Rochester. The man had what appeared to be a bomb strapped to himself inside the Democrat's office, according to Bill Shaheen, a top state campaign official.
A witness said that she spoke to a woman shortly after she was released from the office by the hostage-taker.
"A young woman with a 6-month or 8-month-old infant came rushing into the store just in tears, and she said, 'You need to call 911. A man has just walked into the Clinton office, opened his coat and showed us a bomb strapped to his chest with duct tape," witness Lettie Tzizik said.
Witnesses described the man as in his 40s with salt-and-pepper hair. There are several police officers positioned across the street from the office, crouched down behind cruisers with guns drawn, according to a reported at the scene.
"There are sharp shooters on the roof, and police are negotiating with someone in the building," said another witness, who did not want to be identified. "The police are notifying all the business owners on the street to evacuate. There are fire trucks behind the Hillary Clinton office.
"I walked out and I immediately started running, and I saw that the road was blocked off. They told me run and keep going," said Cassandra Hamilton, who works in an office adjacent to the building.
Nearby businesses have been evacuated, and the St. Elizabeth Seaton School has been locked down. Several elementary and middle schools in the area also locked their doors in what officials called a "soft lockdown." Children at the McLelland School, Maple Street School and William Allen School were only being released directly to their parents.
Clinton, who is not in New Hampshire, is attending a National Democratic Committee meeting in Virginia. Presidential candidate Barack Obama also has an office in Rochester, and it has been evacuated. There were no reports of any injuries.
NewsCenter 5 and TheBostonChannel.com will have more information when it becomes available. 
