Clinton Office Hostage Situation In Rochester Appears To Be Over

November 30, 2007

A hostage situation at the Rochester headquarters of the Hillary Clinton campaign appears to be over.

A man was taken into custody after he kneeled on the ground outside the office and police placed handcuffs on him. Moments earlier, a young man believed to be the third and final hostage was released.

The armed man took hostages at the office on 28 North Main St. Friday afternoon. Foster's Daily Democrat identified the suspect as Leeland Eisenberg, of Somersworth, N.H., someone who is well known to police in Rochester. Eisnerberg was scheduled to appear in Strafford County Superior Court at 1:30 p.m. Friday with his wife for a domestic violence hearing. A volunteer who only gave his first name, Daniel, said that he called one of the campaign workers on her cell phone after hearing about the hostage taking. Daniel said that there were two women and one man in the office. "She was very hysterical," he said. "The man said he wasn't going to hurt them, but he wanted to talk to Hillary Clinton." Two women were released during the afternoon. Daniel said that other worker man, described as in his 20s, was still in the office. At about 6:13 p.m., police could be seen taking a young man out of the office, minutes before the hostage-taker was taking into custody. At a news conference earlier in the day, Rochester Police Capt. Paul Callaghan refused to release any details on the number of hostages, whether any hostages remained, the identity of the hostages or the identity of the hostage-taker. Police said there have been no injuries but described it as a "fluid situation." "This is a hostage situation," Callaghan said. "We're confident we have the resources available to end this safely." ABC News reported that the hostage-taker was an older male who was well known locally and has a history of mental illness who told his son today to "watch the news." The hostage-taker's name was not officially released released, but a witness who spoke with the man's stepson said that he asked family members where he could purchase road flares. Some officials speculated that the man may have the flares strapped to his body. The witness said the man told her that his stepfather's marriage was falling apart and that he had been drinking for the past 72 hours. A friend of the family said that the man thought that there was a government conspiracy and that government officials were "coming after him." Clinton, who is not in New Hampshire, canceled a National Democratic Committee meeting in Virginia. A woman and her baby told workers at a neighboring business that she was released 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 in the area with guns drawn. "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 were evacuated, and students at the St. Elizabeth Seton School were moved to the Maple Street School, where they were released to their parents. Several elementary and middle schools in the areas 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. "There is an ongoing situation in our Rochester, N.H., office. We are in close contact with state and local authorities and are acting at their direction," an official from Clinton's campaign said in statement. "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."

Presidential candidate Barack Obama also has an office in Rochester, and it has been evacuated. Staff members in John Edwards' office, which is a few buildings away, were also evacuated. There were no reports of any injuries. There were no reports of any injuries.

Source: WMUR

Posted by Hillary · Filed Under Crime, Hillary Clinton, News, Top Story

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Clinton Office Hostage Situation In Rochester Appears To Be Over

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