Post Office standoff

[armedandsafe]

Police: 5 People Held Hostage Inside Virginia Post Office
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
WYTHEVILLE, Va. —

An armed man in a wheelchair took five people hostage Wednesday at a post office in a small, rural town, forcing officials to cordon off a three-block area of a downtown filled with holiday shoppers.

Shots were fired, but there were no reports of injuries. The man 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, West Virginia, were at the scene.

Virginia State Police sent in a special weapons and tactics team and a bomb technician. Police at the scene told the Wytheville Enterprise the man had five pounds of a common plastic explosive strapped to his chest. State police spokeswoman Corinne Geller would not confirm that.

Susan Holman, manager of a store across the street, said officers told employees to leave the building because there was a man with explosives in the post office.

"The officer told us the man had enough explosives to take out the whole block," Holman told the Enterprise.

Mayor Trent Crewe told The Associated Press five hostages were in the building, including three employees and two customers.

Postal worker Walt Korndoerfer said he was in the post office when he heard shots and a co-worker ran past. He called police and then ran himself.

"You hear a shot, you get out," Korndoerfer told The Roanoke Times.

Town Manager Wayne Sutherland, speaking from his office four blocks from the scene, said dozens of officers had circled the freestanding, brick post office.

"It's completely surrounded by police in every direction," Sutherland said. "All I can see is blue lights."

Sutherland said the streets of the town of 8,500 were filled with holiday shoppers.

"It's Christmas and all the stores are busy," he said.

"common plastic explosive" ??? Just which "plastic explosive" is "common" to find in the US?

Pops

[Redhand]

The local news has reported the man has 5 lbs. of C-4 attached to his wheelchair and may have grenades. A sherrifs deputy reported there were grenades found in the man;s truck, A witness reports the man came to the P.O. in a red pick-up with Marine Corps stickers in the windows. I'm about 15 miles from that A.O.

[armedandsafe]

If C-4 is a "common" explosive, just where would I commonly go to obtain some? I've got some gopher holes I need to excavate.

Pops

[Redhand]

And just imagine explosives,guns, grenades aren't allowed in a P.O. Another gun free zone abridged. If one of the hostages was armed the situation would have probably ended by now.

[cycloneman]

QUOTE

"Virginia State Police sent in a special weapons and tactics team and a bomb technician. Police at the scene told the Wytheville Enterprise the man had five pounds of a common plastic explosive strapped to his chest. State police spokeswoman Corinne Geller would not confirm that."

[Redhand]

Just read that the situation is over with no apparent injuries to the hostages,police or the perp. From what I read the situation was fraught with mis -information,speculation and outright B.S. I know you can't take anything for granted in a situation like this but that the media will milk every stinking ounce of bottom feeding ooze they can to stir up a feeding frenzy. Thank GOD no-one was hurt.

[armedandsafe]

Daylong Va. Post Office Standoff Ends Peacefully
Thursday , December 24, 2009



ADVERTISEMENTWYTHEVILLE, Va. —

A daylong standoff at a small-town Virginia post office ended peacefully with three hostages being released and a suspect who came out of the building in a wheelchair in custody, police said late Wednesday.

Warren Taylor of Sullivan County, Tenn., is being questioned and authorities do not yet have a motive, state police Sgt. Michael Conroy said. The hostages and suspect left the building in Wytheville after authorities ordered the man to surrender.

The standoff began at about 2:30 p.m. when shots were fired at the one-story brick post office in the mountain town in western Virginia. No one was injured, and relatives of two of the hostages said they were able to talk to their loved ones by phone.

It ended about 8 1/2 hours later without the dozens of SWAT members armed with automatic weapons having to fire a shot.

"We're just grateful it ended peacefully," Conroy said. "This is just the best outcome we could hope for."

Police in the town in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains told the Wytheville Enterprise the suspect had what appeared to be a common plastic explosive strapped to his chest. Conroy said police had found weapons and that shots were fired, but no explosives had been uncovered.

He said they were still searching the building late Wednesday, as well as Taylor's truck.

The suspect made no demands other than to ask for a pizza, said Pete Rendina, spokesman for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

An FBI negotiator had asked the several dozen SWAT members, police, fire and others surrounding the building to be quiet because authorities were talking with the suspect.

An officer in the early evening delivered food and drink to the front door at the request of the suspect, state police said. Earlier reports said the man holding the hostages was in a wheelchair, but state police said he entered the building pushing one.

Carlton Austin said his daughter, postal worker Margie Austin, was among the hostages. She managed to call a family friend around 4:30 p.m. and said she was fine. Later, her father said, family members were waiting to hear more.

"That's all we can do," he said.

Niki Oliver told the Enterprise that her brother, Jimmy Oliver, was one of the hostages and had been able to phone family members.

"We love you," she yelled to him as his mother was speaking to him on the phone.

Niki Oliver said her brother went to the post office to mail a Christmas gift to his son.

Postal worker Walt Korndoerfer said he was in the post office when he heard shots and a co-worker ran past. He called police and then ran himself.

His wife, Christine Korndoerfer, said he called around 3:30 p.m. to tell her he had gotten out safely.

"My husband is not one to get upset," she said. "When he called, I don't think I've ever heard him so upset."

Sutherland said the streets were filled with holiday shoppers at the time in the traditional-looking American town of 8,500 decked out for Christmas.

"All the stores are busy," he said.

[glocknut]

I keep saying....this is a bizare world we live in!

gn

[topper]

Ya mean to tell me that someone could not sneak up behind a handicapped person and knock them in the head and end this silly shutt? What a bunch of wusses. All it takes is for one person with a heavy object or something similiar to do the job. Is everyone so scared nowadays that the police have to storm the building to do the same thing? Un freaking believable.

[hogger129]

Originally Posted by Redhand

The local news has reported the man has 5 lbs. of C-4 attached to his wheelchair and may have grenades. A sherrifs deputy reported there were grenades found in the man;s truck, A witness reports the man came to the P.O. in a red pick-up with Marine Corps stickers in the windows. I'm about 15 miles from that A.O.

How in the he\\ would you get those things? I mean those are things you don't just buy at the store. They would be tougher to get than illegal drugs - even on the black market. If you got caught with those items in your possession you would go directly to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200.

[hogger129]

Originally Posted by Redhand

And just imagine explosives,guns, grenades aren't allowed in a P.O. Another gun free zone abridged. If one of the hostages was armed the situation would have probably ended by now.

Exactly. Or if people in the post office were armed too. Around here in many of our schools, there are liason police officers. I do believe they all are able to carry guns on the school grounds. I heard someone telling me about how we should have those everywhere, but hey let's get real. Many places do not have the manpower to do that. Plus with all the deficits facing my state, we can't afford it either. Aren't police pretty much funded by tax money from the state? That's why I think conceal/open carry is a win/win. The state gets to charge people a fee to get the permit, plus they pay the taxes when they buy the guns. Plus arming citizens costs no money. I don't get why governor Doyle hasn't woken up to these facts yet.

[obxned]

That must be some darn fine pizza they have there!

[graehaven]

Gotta love the press. Was it the press' choice of word there, or the police dept's? Interesting.

I'm surprised he didn't have a [GASP] gun, or something. Now THAT would have been OVER THE TOP evil. Holy crap!

Also, the police were carrying "automatic" weapons. Hmmmmm, you mean, they weren't "assault rifles?" What a bunch of jackholes (press).

[bcj1755]

Here's more on this story...

Feds: Va. standoff suspect was angry at government
Asscociated Press
Posted: Thursday, Dec. 24, 2009

WYTHEVILLE, Va. -- Warren "Gator" Taylor was tired of driving, so he pulled off the interstate in this Blue Ridge Mountain town to buy gas and food. The Tennessee man had been angry at the government for months, even years, federal officials said Thursday, and this seemed like as good a place as any to use the handguns and mock explosives he had packed in his beloved red pickup.

He had no apparent connection to Wytheville, but the picturesque community of 8,500 reminded him of the tourist town of Gatlinburg, Tenn., three hours away. So after breakfast at a local eatery and a steak at Applebee's, he pushed his wheelchair through the door of the post office Wednesday afternoon, officials said, slammed what looked like a bomb on the counter and took three people hostage.

Just over eight hours later, after demanding only a pizza he shared with his captives and a pack of cigarettes for a hostage who smoked, he let them go, wheeled himself outside in his chair and surrendered.

"There was no mission statement. No demands made. No purpose in what he was doing. There was no reason for any of it," said Jimmy Oliver, 41, one of the hostages, who spoke with The Associated Press at his mother's floral shop. "He just wanted to destroy a federal building with a lot of people.

"Once we established a relationship, he decided destroying people wasn't in the cards."

Oliver, a divorced father of two, was at the post office to mail Christmas gifts to his teenage sons and was filling out forms at a counter when he noticed a heavyset man using his wheelchair like a walker to brace himself.

He saw the man put an olive drab square ammunition can on the counter, then pull out a .40-caliber Glock pistol. Customers scattered, and the man fired a single shot at the postmaster as he fled.

The man stuck one of his four guns in Oliver's face and told him to get on the floor, where he laid next to an older man while the gunman grabbed Margie Austin, a postal supervisor.

Oliver, who said he had served 18 years in the military, mostly with the Army's 82nd Airborne Division, thought about his children and family and tried to stay calm. Austin did the same, even as the gunman at one point grabbed her and used her as a human shield as he fired at police outside.

"I tried to keep him calm and see what he wanted," Austin said. "I just wanted us to get out alive. There were times I didn't know whether that would happen."

When the gunman asked the hostages their names, Oliver introduced himself as a former staff sergeant, hoping for mercy.

Slowly, the gunman opened up, saying he had been in the Marines for 20 years and was proud of his military experience. On Thursday, military officials could not immediately locate any record that Taylor served.

In the last few years, the gunman told Oliver and the others, his life had headed south. He said his son had been killed in Afghanistan; the AP could not immediately find any record corroborating that.

The gunman said he had no money, and his 2007 red Dodge diesel pickup truck was about to be repossessed. Mostly, he railed against the government - high taxes, gun control, and President Barack Obama.

"He was really down on the government," Oliver said. "About the government taking over the right to bear arms ... he was angry at the government overtaxing us."

He told the hostages about the steak he had eaten at Applebee's, calling it his last dinner, Oliver said. According to a criminal complaint by Postal Inspector J. David McKinney, Taylor later told authorities he had decided to "end it" at the post office.

The gunman asked for the FBI to get involved, then demanded a pizza. It took a few hours, but police delivered a large Pizza Hut supreme, which Oliver retrieved from the door and the hostages and gunman shared. Later, the gunman insisted police bring a lighter and a pack of Marlboros for Oliver.

As the night dragged on and negotiations continued, the gunman allowed the hostages to call their families. Austin was able to let a friend know she was OK. A friend of Oliver's who is a police officer in South Carolina called to wish him a merry Christmas and the gunman answered.

Oliver said they talked about bombs over the phone and "that seemed to calm him down."

Finally, the tired gunman turned to his hostages and told them, "It's over." He unloaded three of his four guns and waited with the hostages until police ordered them out of the building an hour later. The three hostages came out, one at a time, followed by Taylor, who raised his hands and shirt to show he was unarmed.

During an arraignment Thursday in U.S. District Court in Roanoke on kidnapping and other charges, he said nothing save a brief apology to people in the courtroom.

"I'm sorry I got everybody out on Christmas," said Taylor, of Sullivan County, Tenn., who sat in his wheelchair wearing blue jeans and a black T-shirt. A judge ordered him to have a mental evaluation.

Taylor, who has a criminal record and was registered as a sex offender in Florida, didn't argue for bail but had his lawyer ask about accommodations for his health conditions. He has a prosthetic leg and diabetes, public defender Randy Cargill said.

A woman who answered the door at Taylor's trailer in the Beverly Hills Mobile Home Park in Bristol, Tenn., said she was his girlfriend and they spent a lot of time talking about the Bible and religion. Her Christmas gift to him was going to be an index to the Bible.

"I keep asking myself if I should have seen some warning signs. This is totally out of character for the person I know," said the woman, who identified herself as Barbara but would not give her last name. She said they met when he moved to the trailer park eight months ago.

Meanwhile, Oliver, who does not want to be called a hero, said he is still hasn't fully processed what happened.

"I know this has changed my life. You want to live your life to the fullest and not take anything for granted. But it's really too early to give you a more meaningful answer. This ended 11 hours ago." Associated Press writers Tom Breen in Roanoke and Bristol, Tenn.; Michael Felberbaum in Richmond; and Tim Huber in Charleston, W.Va., contributed to this report.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/bre...y/1144374.html

Notice how they, once again, slyly imply that anyone who owns guns and dislikes the current closet-commie gov't is a threat because they are "angry" at the gov't? And by implication, they throw doubt on the millions of people who have been protesting the gov't at the Tea Parties because they are also "angry" at the gov't

I'm just glad this guy didn't actually kill anyone because then we'd have even more liberals and even more talking heads from the "fair and impartial" media screaming about how we need more gun control to stop the "evil" guns from killing people

[graehaven]

yes, the agenda they've been hawking for years, in understated ways, is becoming overstated AS it's being implemented.

It IS exciting to be right on the sidelines of watching the death of a nation - the greatest nation on earth. But, oh, what great consequences it will bring all of us. I tremble for my kids. God help us, please.

Change? You got it Amerika. Here it comes. Try to remember all your fallacious denials as they load you into the boxcars bound for the FEMA concentration / execution camps, that "don't" exist.

Idiot sheeple.

[Kev117]

So the Tea Party claims him as one of their own? Wants to make him a poster child?

"Taylor, who has a criminal record and was registered as a sex offender in Florida, ..."

Think about who you call brother.

I say he's a nut probably a bigot at heart and sounds like he's been a nut for a long long time. And ALL anti-government movements (with a violent flares) tend to attract more than their share of nuts.

[Shooter45]

Originally Posted by Kev117

So the Tea Party claims him as one of their own? Wants to make him a poster child?

"Taylor, who has a criminal record and was registered as a sex offender in Florida, ..."

Think about who you call brother.

I say he's a nut probably a bigot at heart and sounds like he's been a nut for a long long time. And ALL anti-government movements (with a violent flares) tend to attract more than their share of nuts.

Kev, I'm curious about your statement. Where did you come up with that. Did you read the thread ??? Poster child ?? One of their own ?? Seriously, are you a troll ???????

[pinecone70]

Originally Posted by Kev117

So the Tea Party claims him as one of their own? Wants to make him a poster child?

"Taylor, who has a criminal record and was registered as a sex offender in Florida, ..."

Think about who you call brother.

I say he's a nut probably a bigot at heart and sounds like he's been a nut for a long long time. And ALL anti-government movements (with a violent flares) tend to attract more than their share of nuts.

[Slabsides]

Originally Posted by Redhand

And just imagine explosives,guns, grenades aren't allowed in a P.O. Another gun free zone abridged. If one of the hostages was armed the situation would have probably ended by now.

What? A post office is a gun-free zone. The law says so. But the man brought one in anyway! How can this be? But what about the law.....the law is supposed to prevent that! I don't understa.....

Another great example. Bad guys don't care what the law is. Places that restrict carrying only ensure easy prey.

[rentalguy1]

I've actually met this guy a few times. He hangs out everyday at one of the local gun shops. I can't remember anything in particular sticking out in my head about him, because everyone there is a disabled vet of some sort. I do remember the first time I ever went to this particular shop, though, having the feeling that if the S ever HTF, these are the guys to move towards. There was a STA mentality about them all, if that makes any sense.

[questor]

Originally Posted by Kev117

So the Tea Party claims him as one of their own?

Wants to make him a poster child?

"Taylor, who has a criminal record and was registered as a sex offender in Florida, ..."

Think about who you call brother.

I say he's a nut probably a bigot at heart and sounds like he's been a nut for a long long time. And ALL anti-government movements (with a violent flares) tend to attract more than their share of nuts.

Noticed this is your 1st post! What liberal group are you fronting for?

Please provide links backing your outrageous first two sentences.

Also define bigot. Wondering how the post office standoff is a bigoted act?

[Kev117]

Originally Posted by questor

Noticed this is your 1st post! What liberal group are you fronting for?

Please provide links backing your outrageous first two sentences.

Also define bigot. Wondering how the post office standoff is a bigoted act?

"Mostly he railed against the government - high taxes, gun control, and President Barack Obama."

Do you think he considers himself a Tea Party Member? I'd wager he does. Since there isn't any membership qualifications (maybe there should be) he's a member if he claims he's a member.

BTW, I'm not "fronting" for anyone but myself. Who are you fronting for?

It seems like a bigoted act because what he railed against aren't really things that have anything to do with the person he elected to blame. Obama hasn't raised taxes, he's actually lowered them for 95% of Americans. He hasn't enacted any changes to gun laws, nor has he ever proposed to do so. It's hard to take anyone who's hates Obama for things he didn't do, as unbiased. Being irrationally fearful of a group is bigoted too.

Not a troll, just not blinded by hate.

[pinecone70]

OMG.....

[artabr]

Originally Posted by Kev117

"Mostly he railed against the government - high taxes, gun control, and President Barack Obama."

Do you think he considers himself a Tea Party Member? I'd wager he does. Since there isn't any membership qualifications (maybe there should be) he's a member if he claims he's a member.

BTW, I'm not "fronting" for anyone but myself. Who are you fronting for?

It seems like a bigoted act because what he railed against aren't really things that have anything to do with the person he elected to blame. Obama hasn't raised taxes, he's actually lowered them for 95% of Americans. He hasn't enacted any changes to gun laws, nor has he ever proposed to do so. It's hard to take anyone who's hates Obama for things he didn't do, as unbiased. Being irrationally fearful of a group is bigoted too.

Not a troll, just not blinded by hate.

You are living in a dream if you think Obama has lowered taxes.

Just who in the hell do you think is going to pay for "the ones" left wing handouts and programs. The friggin' tax fairy????


Please take an E-con class.


Art

[pinecone70]

Who are these 95% of Americans? None of them live in my part of the country.