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| Hostage drama at Hillary's campaign office ends peacefully | | | New York | Dec 2
A man claiming to be armed with bomb seized five hostages, including a baby, at Democratic Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton's campaign office in New Hampshire state of the US before surrendering to police peacefully to end a tense five-hour stand-off. 47-year old Lee Eisenberg, said to be mentally unstable, walked into the building in Rochester, about 450 km from here, yesterday. Claiming that he had a bomb strapped to his body, he took five hostages, including three women and a six-month-old baby.
Eisenberg, who released the baby along with mother almost immediately, was quoted as saying by the media that he wanted to talk to Clinton to complain about his mental health treatment.
The woman, who was released, rushed to a nearby store and told the employees that they need to call police immediately as a man had walked into Clinton' office, opened his coat to show duct tapes and claimed he had a bomb strapped to his chest.
No body was hurt and after Eisenberg was taken into custody, police said he had nothing more than road flares taped to his chest, the media reported.
Hillary Clinton was never in danger as she was in Washington DC all along but it brought to halt her campaign just weeks before the crucial primary in New Hampshire State, which is scheduled for January 8.
She expressed her gratefulness that the hostage drama had ended peacefully and all hostages were released without harm.
"All my campaign staff are safe. I want to thank them for their extraordinary courage and coolness under some very difficult pressures and dangerous situations," she said in Washington.
"It's been a very difficult day, personally and emotionally. I am sure you would all understand if this were to happen to anyone. I think it was very difficult but eventually a very gratifying day the way work was done," Clinton said.
Police swat teams surrounded Clinton's campaign office, which was the headquarters building, and sharp shooters were posted on rooftops of nearby buildings. Offices of her rival Barak Obama, situated nearby, were also evacuated as a precautionary measure. Clinton cancelled all her engagements for the day because of the hostage situation as security around her and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, as well as her campaign offices in several cities was strengthened.
Clinton's campaign offices in Iowa State were also closed.
The hostages were released slowly. Two women hostages were released almost three hours into the crisis and man was freed when Eisenberg was arrested.
Clinton was going to Rochester to meet the families of those taken hostage.
CNN said a hostage and Eisenberg called it several times throughout the crisis and talked to its staffers but it chose not to broadcast the report to avoid compromising the safety of hostages as it believed that he could watch its broadcasts.
It quoted Eisenberg as saying that he had mental problems and could not get anyone to help him.
ABC News reported that the man is a well-known resident of the area with history of mental health problems and that he had told his son to "watch the news today." |
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