12:15 a.m. Thursday
New video uploaded of the State Police bomb squad's robot searching the suspect, after he came out.
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11:40 p.m.
By Ashley Roberts, in the field
WSLS Reporter
aroberts@wsls.com
Sgt. Mike Conroy says the suspect's name is Warren "Gator" Taylor, from Sullivan County, Tennessee.
Sgt. Conroy says investigators were able to talk Taylor out by negotiating to release three hostages, but Conroy did not say what Taylor asked for in exchange.
Investigators are intervewing Taylor and the hostages now.
Conroy says several weapons were found inside the post office, but no explosives have been found so far.
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11:36 p.m.
By Ashley Roberts, in the field
WSLS Reporter
aroberts@wsls.com
Police are holding a news conference now.
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11:18 p.m.
By Ashley Roberts, in the field
WSLS Reporter
aroberts@wsls.com
State Police Sgt. Mike Conroy says 3 people who came out were hostages.
Officers are securing building to make sure no one else inside.
Man in wheelchair believed to be suspect, no name yet.
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11:13 p.m.
By Ashley Roberts, in the field
WSLS Reporter
aroberts@wsls.com
Man who came out in wheelchair now laying on ground on stomach, police are moving toward him.
Armored carrier went up to man in wheelchair with about 20 men wearing shields. Now surrounded.
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11:08 p.m.
By Ashley Roberts, in the field
WSLS Reporter
aroberts@wsls.com
A man in a wheelchair has rolled himself out into the street. The state police bomb squad robot is checking over him.
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11:03 p.m.
By Ashley Roberts, in the field
WSLS Reporter
aroberts@wsls.com
Three people have walked out of the post office. Each had their hands raised.
Police are not saying who the three people are.
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11:02 p.m.
By MITCH WEISS
Associated Press Writer
WYTHEVILLE, Va. (AP) - At least two people have walked out of a small-town Virginia post office with his hands raised after authorities ordered a man holding hostages to surrender.
Authorities are not saying if one of the people was the suspect or hostages.
Authorities had been negotiating with the unidentified suspect to release the hostages who had been held since mid-afternoon Wednesday.
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10:58 p.m.
(AP) - Man walks out of post office with hands raised after hostage standoff; no word on identity.
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10:31 p.m.
From Ashley Roberts, in the field
WSLS Reporter
aroberts@wsls.com
Two ambulances have driven up near the post office. Police are not saying why they have been brought here.
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9:14 p.m.
From Ashley Roberts, in the field
WSLS Reporter
aroberts@wsls.com
Wythe Co. Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Keith Dunagan says the suspect claims he has two bombs, but he sounds calm and even joked about his food arrivng late.
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8:37 p.m.
From Ashley Roberts, in the field
WSLS Reporter
aroberts@wsls.com
Wythe Co. Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Keith Dunagan says there are fewer than the original five or six hostages believed to be inside the post office. Dunagan would not say what led investigators to believe that are now fewer hostages.
Dunagan added that officers have confirmed that one of the hostage is an employee at the post office, and that the suspect has allowed a couple of the hostages to call their families to tell them they are OK.
Dunagan says the suspect still has not told officers what his name is, but is claiming to be a veteran of the Marine Corps, and not from Wytheville. Officers believe a red truck at the scene is the suspect’s.
Dunagan says the suspect has not made any additional demands, other than food and to talk with the FBI and a bomb tech expert. Dunagan says the suspect has spoken with the FBI, as well as explosives experts, and the FBI is now handling the negotiating.
Dunagan added that more FBI agents are on the way, since the post office is a federal building.
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8:08 p.m.
From Ashley Roberts, in the field
WSLS Reporter
aroberts@wsls.com
Sgt. Mike Conroy with State Police tells me that within the past hour, food and drinks were delivered inside the post office.
Conroy added that the suspect is still talking with hostage negotiators.
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7:08 p.m.
From Ashley Roberts, in the field
WSLS Reporter
aroberts@wsls.com
In a live interview on WSLS at 7:00 p.m., Wytheville Mayor Trent Crewe said the town has set up a shelter for evacuees at the town fire department. You can call (276) 223-3301 for information, if you are one of the evacuees.
The Mayor also says the evacuated area is not expected to go beyond the three-block radius that is already set-up.
Mayor Crewe said he is shocked and sorry over the event, but the community will pull together and survive the incident.
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.
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7:00 p.m.
From Ashley Roberts, in the field
WSLS Reporter
aroberts@wsls.com
Police have called reporters together to give us an infromation update.
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6:30 p.m.
By Wytheville Enterprise
Eric Deaton, chief executive officer of Wythe County Community Hospital, said he and others in hospital leadership positions have been meeting every half hour. He said the group has been in kept up to date by local law enforcement and emergency services workers.
The hospital, which recently completed an emergency room renovation, was on Code Green, Deaton said, meaning it was preparing for the potential for mass casualties or injuries. He said the hospital trains for situations such as the one that stretched into nightfall on Wednesday and responded according to plan. He said extra staff had been brought in and other staff would be staying on even after the 7 p.m. shift change. He said extra physicians had been called in, along with extra staff from the imaging department. Two surgeons and three other doctors are on standby, Deaton said.
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6:06 p.m.
(AP) - The suspect has made no demands other than to ask for a pizza, said Pete Rendina, spokesman for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Rendina said the man was in a wheelchair and missing part of his leg, but he had no other information. Postal inspectors from Roanoke and Charleston, W.Va., are at the scene.
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5:45 p.m
From Ashley Roberts, in the field
WSLS Reporter
aroberts@wsls.com
In a live interview on WSLS at 5:30 p.m., State Police Sgt. Michael Conroy told me that no one inside the post office is believed to be hurt.
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4:41 p.m.
From Ashley Roberts, in the field
WSLS Reporter
aroberts@wsls.com
The Wythe Co. Sheriff's Office says the suspect has at least 5 hostages, and claims to have one bomb inside, and one bomb outside the post office.
Investigators say no real demads have been made, and the suspect has asked to talk to FBI, as well as bomb tech experts.
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4:05 p.m.
By Wytheville Enterprise
Wytheville Mayor Trent Crewe says a disabled man entered the post office around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday afternoon.
The man fired one shot. He’s holding 3 postal workers and 2 customers hostage.
Crewe said there are unconfirmed reports that man may have a device on him.
The man’s car outside the post office also appears to be equipped with some type of device.
No one has been injured, and police are negotiating with the man.
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3:30 p.m.
By Jeffrey Simmons
Wytheville Enterprise
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.
Postal worker Walt Korndorfer said there was at least one hostage in the builiding. Supervisor Margie Austin, he said, was unaccounted for. The post master, he said, was out of the building when the shooting started.
Korndorfer said he was in his office, to the side of the Main Street building, figuring out newspaper postage reports when he heard shots and a co-worker ran past. He followed suit, running from the building and down Main Street, where he helped police block and redirect taffic in the early moments of the standoff.
Town police had blocked off a three-block square perimeter as officers outside the post office crouched behind vehicles, rifles at the ready. Police were working with the fire department and other agencies to evacuate Main Street just before 3 p.m.
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2:53 p.m.
From Ashley Roberts, in the field
WSLS Reporter
aroberts@wsls.com
The Wythe Co. Sheriff's Office confirms to WSLS that there is currently a hostage situation at the post office in downtown Wytheville.
An investigator tells us people living nearby could possibly be evacuated, but the sheriff's office is waiting to hear back from the town police on how they can help with the situation.
People are being asked to stay away from the area around the post office.
10 On Your Side's Ashely Roberts will have more on this story as it develops.
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