WSLS Wytheville Hostage Update 8:30 pm | Wytheville Hostage | Wytheville | Wytheville Va | Wytheville Post Office |Wytheville Va Hostage | Wytheville

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 hostages 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.

Earlier Reports:

The standoff continues at the Wytheville post office on Main Street. A man is holding at least five hostages and claims to have explosives. People in the area say shots have been fired from the post office. Police ask everyone in a three to four block area around the post office to evacuate. The Wytheville Fire department and the Red Cross have opened a shelter at the fire station for people who had to leave their homes because of the hostage situation . The shelter is located at 185 West Spring Street.

One of the hostages is 41-year-old Jim Oliver, Jr. of Wytheville. His mother Sandy says the gunman has allowed the hostages to make phone calls to family. His mother says her son sounds tired and exhausted. Oliver is retired from the military and works with his mother at Sandy's Floral Gallery in Wytheville. He was running an errand to the post office for the business when the gunman entered the post office.

The gunman has allowed his hostages to receive food tonight. Police apparently delivered the food to a door of the post office. News 7 has also learned that the gunman walked into the post office around 2:30 this afternoon pushing a wheelchair.

Michael Conroy with the Virginia State Police told us on News 7 at 6 that there were no reports of injuries to the hostages at this time. He says authorities remain in contact with the gunman and hope to resolve the situation peacefully.

Deputy Keith Dunagan of the Wythe County Sheriff's department has been in direct communication with the suspect on a cell phone. Dunagan says there are potentially five to six hostages. He says the suspect in not making any demands, but he refuses to tell authorities his name. The gunman claims to have military explosive experience.

A helicopter is now on standby at Spiller Elementary School in downtown Wytheville. Another helicopter has landed in Withers Park, near the downtown area.

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.

The Wythe County Community Hospital, Pulaski Community Hospital, Carilion New River Medical Center, Lewis-Gale Medical Center, and Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital are on alert to possibly receive trauma patients.

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From the Associated Press:

WYTHEVILLE, Va. (AP) -- Negotiators are trying to coax an armed man into releasing five hostages from a post office in a rural, mountain town in western Virginia.

A negotiator has asked SWAT members, police and others surrounding the building Wednesday in Wytheville (WITH-vill) to be quiet because authorities were talking with the unidentified suspect.

State police say an officer delivered food and drink to the front door of the post office. They say the suspect requested it.

Police said in a press release that the man entered pushing a wheelchair but the purpose of the chair is not known. Earlier reports said he was in a wheelchair.

Shots were fired earlier, but there were no reports of injuries. Relatives say the hostages have been able to contact them by phone.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

APNP 12-23-09 2038EST

WYTHEVILLE, Va. (AP) -- 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.

Wytheville is the county seat of Wythe County, a southwest Virginia locality with fewer than 30,000 people.


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