Mr. Plow
08-30-2007, 02:58 PM
Not sure if this is repost. I saw this on the news in the hospital. Hutch is where I live.
110 Held Hostage (http://www.kansas.com/news/local/story/160446.html)
110 held hostage at Dillons in Hutch
BY JEREMY SHAPIRO
Eagle correspondent
HUTCHINSON - A male caller held 110 employees and customers hostage with threats of a bomb Tuesday at a Hutchinson Dillons store, at one point demanding that they disrobe.
The ordeal ended after about 90 minutes when police determined it was safe to leave. Neither the caller nor any explosives were found.
Hutchinson Police Chief Dick Heitschmidt said police don't know how old the caller was or where he was calling from. They are reviewing security tapes from the store and trying to trace the calls. He said the FBI is assisting the investigation.
Dillons management declined to comment.
The man made repeated calls to the store manager and a Hutchinson police captain, threatening the lives of the 64 customers and 46 employees inside the store, police said.
The caller had some sort of visual access to the store, Heitschmidt said.
Police received two calls about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday claiming there were bombs at the Dillons stores at 13th and Main and 30th and Plum streets. Heitschmidt said the store at 13th and Main was searched and nothing was found. But at 30th and Plum, in north Hutchinson, an employee also received a threatening call.
Jim Peterson, one of the hostages, said he was in the checkout line when the store manager told everyone to come to the front of the store. He said the manager was right next to him, talking to the caller.
Peterson said the manager was pleading with the caller not to harm anyone in the store.
"He was just beside himself," Peterson said of the manager. "Everyone was really scared. We didn't know if there was a bomb."
At one point, the caller or perhaps a second person called the police. Capt. Troy Hoover said he spoke with the man briefly.
Heitschmidt said the caller asked for a ransom. Heitschmidt refused to disclose the amount.
Walter Merian of Sterling said he and the other hostages obeyed the caller out of fear. He said he was worried someone was posing as a hostage and had a weapon.
"We thought if we tried something we could get shot," he said.
Merian, Peterson and police said the caller demanded the female hostages take off their clothes. About 20 minutes later, the caller made a similar demand of the males.
Merian and Peterson said some complied out of fear of what would happen if they didn't. Others refused.
"A lot of the women were really embarrassed being exposed," Merian said. "It already was scary enough without adding the embarrassment."
Around 12:45 p.m., police determined it was safe for the customers to leave, Heitschmidt said. The hostages exited one or two at a time and were taken next door to Fiffe's Liquor Store for questioning.
"That was a precaution," Heitschmidt said. "We didn't know who anyone was."
People were then released and taken home by family or friends. Some returned later Tuesday to retrieve their vehicles from the parking lot.
The Dillons remained closed Tuesday night so officials could audit the store.
Heitschmidt said the FBI told him that similar incidents were reported Tuesday in Arizona, and earlier in Missouri and Virginia, and it is possible the caller was from out of state.
A television station in Prescott, Ariz., reported Tuesday that police there evacuated a Safeway after a caller told the manager there was a bomb inside the store. No bomb was found.
Also, the Newport Daily News in Rhode Island reported Tuesday that a Wal-Mart store received a bomb threat just before opening that morning. About two dozen employees left the store.
110 Held Hostage (http://www.kansas.com/news/local/story/160446.html)
110 held hostage at Dillons in Hutch
BY JEREMY SHAPIRO
Eagle correspondent
HUTCHINSON - A male caller held 110 employees and customers hostage with threats of a bomb Tuesday at a Hutchinson Dillons store, at one point demanding that they disrobe.
The ordeal ended after about 90 minutes when police determined it was safe to leave. Neither the caller nor any explosives were found.
Hutchinson Police Chief Dick Heitschmidt said police don't know how old the caller was or where he was calling from. They are reviewing security tapes from the store and trying to trace the calls. He said the FBI is assisting the investigation.
Dillons management declined to comment.
The man made repeated calls to the store manager and a Hutchinson police captain, threatening the lives of the 64 customers and 46 employees inside the store, police said.
The caller had some sort of visual access to the store, Heitschmidt said.
Police received two calls about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday claiming there were bombs at the Dillons stores at 13th and Main and 30th and Plum streets. Heitschmidt said the store at 13th and Main was searched and nothing was found. But at 30th and Plum, in north Hutchinson, an employee also received a threatening call.
Jim Peterson, one of the hostages, said he was in the checkout line when the store manager told everyone to come to the front of the store. He said the manager was right next to him, talking to the caller.
Peterson said the manager was pleading with the caller not to harm anyone in the store.
"He was just beside himself," Peterson said of the manager. "Everyone was really scared. We didn't know if there was a bomb."
At one point, the caller or perhaps a second person called the police. Capt. Troy Hoover said he spoke with the man briefly.
Heitschmidt said the caller asked for a ransom. Heitschmidt refused to disclose the amount.
Walter Merian of Sterling said he and the other hostages obeyed the caller out of fear. He said he was worried someone was posing as a hostage and had a weapon.
"We thought if we tried something we could get shot," he said.
Merian, Peterson and police said the caller demanded the female hostages take off their clothes. About 20 minutes later, the caller made a similar demand of the males.
Merian and Peterson said some complied out of fear of what would happen if they didn't. Others refused.
"A lot of the women were really embarrassed being exposed," Merian said. "It already was scary enough without adding the embarrassment."
Around 12:45 p.m., police determined it was safe for the customers to leave, Heitschmidt said. The hostages exited one or two at a time and were taken next door to Fiffe's Liquor Store for questioning.
"That was a precaution," Heitschmidt said. "We didn't know who anyone was."
People were then released and taken home by family or friends. Some returned later Tuesday to retrieve their vehicles from the parking lot.
The Dillons remained closed Tuesday night so officials could audit the store.
Heitschmidt said the FBI told him that similar incidents were reported Tuesday in Arizona, and earlier in Missouri and Virginia, and it is possible the caller was from out of state.
A television station in Prescott, Ariz., reported Tuesday that police there evacuated a Safeway after a caller told the manager there was a bomb inside the store. No bomb was found.
Also, the Newport Daily News in Rhode Island reported Tuesday that a Wal-Mart store received a bomb threat just before opening that morning. About two dozen employees left the store.