Hostage standoff ends at Clinton office

By Scott Helman and James W. Pindell, Globe Staff and Globe Correspondent

ROCHESTER, N.H. -- A standoff with a man who walked into Hillary Clinton's campaign office wearing what looked like a bomb ended this evening with all the hostages released and the man's arrest, authorities said.

In a press conference, Clinton said she plans to go to New Hampshire to thank law enforcement and her staff.

"I'm relieved to have this situation end so peacefully," she said. "It's been a very difficult day personally and emotionally."

Clinton said that talking to family members of those held hostage was "the hardest part for me." "I really commend their extraordinary courage," she said.

She said the campaign had to come to a standstill because it was focused on the hostage crisis. "This has been a very hard day for all of us in our campaign," she said.

Rochester police Captain Paul Callaghan didn't immediately release any further information. A press briefing was slated for 7 p.m.

Heavily armed police had blocked a four- to five-block area of this small city near the Maine border after the man walked into the office in the brick building on North Maine Street. The suspect was identified as Leeland Eisenberg by the website for Foster's Daily Democrat, a newspaper that covers the Rochester area.

Several news organizations have reported that the suspect is a well-known local man in his 40s who is mentally ill, but Callaghan declined to confirm his identify.

The man walked into the office at about 12:55 p.m. and prompted a response that included heavily armed police holding riot shields and wearing helmets and camouflage who arrived in an armored truck. Nearby businesses have been evacuated, and a local elementary school was locked down. The response now includes the State Police bomb squad, a regional SWAT team, sheriff’' deputies, and agents from the FBI, Secret Service, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

Television footage showed at least one woman being released from the campaign office at about 3 p.m. At the time, police at the scene confirmed that she had been let go.

Earlier in the afternoon, a witness, Lettie Tzizik, told WMUR that a woman and her baby ran into neighboring business and said 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,' " Tzizik said.

Early reports are that the man had been holding two campaign volunteers and that he might have demanded to talk to Clinton.

Clinton was to attend the Democratic National Committee winter meetings in Vienna, Va., but she cancelled her speech there. Other candidates offered their support and said they hoped for a peaceful outcome.

The Clinton campaign issued a brief statement.

"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. We will release additional details as appropriate."

Workers for Senator Barack Obama's campaign office in Rochester, four doors away from Clinton's, were also evacuated, a campaign spokesman said. John Edwards' staffers also were evacuated.

Other campaigns also quickly reacted.

"As a security precaution, we have asked all field offices to lock all exterior doors and be on alert for any suspicious individuals," Kevin Madden, a spokesman for Mitt Romney's campaign, said in a statement. "We've also directed all Romney campaign employees in Boston and across the country to be cognizant when entering or exiting staff offices so as not to allow anyone into offices that is not authorized."