(no subject)
So here I am on a Friday at school. Kiddos just get on the bus to go home (1:45pm) when we were told we are going into slow lockdown and the cars on our street are being redirected away from downtown. Chatter is starting in the hallway of the Rochester Rec Center, we go in and check Ch. 9 news. This is what we found out.... read below... but let me tell you I was fucking scared. I know I wasn't that close to it... but damn it's Rochester... Clinton was no where around... this man is fucking crazy... but hey so is Clinton for coming to Portsmouth later that night. Read on.
http://fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071201/GJNEWS_01/712010063
Defused: Somersworth man surrenders after more than 5-hour ordeal
Photo Gallery
By ADAM D. KRAUSS
akrauss@fosters.com
Article Date: Saturday, December 1, 2007
ROCHESTER - Authorities were able to convince a Somersworth man who claimed to have a bomb when he took over Hillary Clinton's downtown campaign office Friday to release his hostages and surrender peacefully after a standoff that lasted more than five hours and brought life around downtown to a frightening halt.
It was about 6:15 p.m. when Leeland Eisenberg, 46, of 7 Brook Drive, turned himself over to police who were waiting for him in the middle of the street in front of the 28 North Main St. campaign headquarters of the New York senator and Democratic presidential candidate.
Ending what was a dramatic and at times confusing day, Eisenberg walked out of the brick building, removed what turned out to be road flares that were taped to him with duct tape and followed orders to get on the ground. Dressed in a red tie and white dress shirt, he was handcuffed, hustled into a police vehicle and quickly driven away in custody of city police.
"Thank god it's over," city resident Susan Jackson said moments after the arrest. "I was hoping and praying that they would get this guy."
Eisenberg, who police say had a detonator to make the flares look like a real bomb, was charged with kidnapping, reckless conduct and criminal threatening. Police Chief David Dubois said other local, state and federal agencies - including the FBI, Secret Service, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - would decide if any federal-level charges would be added.
Eisenberg had not been given an arraignment date as of Friday night, and Dubois did not know if he has legal representation.
Dubois said Eisenberg was known to police, which helped in authorities' response.
About a half-hour before Eisenberg surrendered, a male hostage who witnesses said appeared to be in his late teens was released. By 3:35, one female hostage was released and another managed to escape when she had an opportunity, authorities said. A mother and her child, who police said is less than a year old, were released at the outset of the ordeal, which began around 12:40 p.m.
No one was injured, police said.
The office takeover forced the evacuation of all of the buildings on North Main Street and some outlying areas, and police made attempts to contact residents who were not home to make sure they stayed away. Perimeters were set up around the office, effectively locking down downtown from the corner of South Main and Portland streets, over to the area where Wakefield Street meets Columbus Avenue and in the area behind the Clinton office.
The episode also ended what had been a normal day on the campaign trail, one that began with the Clinton campaign pointing out differences with candidates' health care plans. Clinton was scheduled to speak at the Democratic National Committee meeting in Vienna, Va., but she and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, canceled public appearances as they followed the news.
Hillary Clinton was personally in touch with New Hampshire authorities.
"The senator was very supportive of what we were doing and obviously she wanted to see a most successful outcome to this," said State Police Col. Frederick Booth. "What she expressed to me was simply that she did not want to see anybody hurt. ... She offered to do anything we need her to do."
One thing police would not allow her to do was have her or her campaign fulfill Eisenberg's request to speak with the senator.
"From a tactical standpoint that would not have been a wise move for us to do that because if we put that chip up first from the beginning then there was no place to negotiate," Booth said. He declined to say what Eisenberg wanted to speak with her about, only saying the "Clinton campaign may know the answer to that."
A Clinton campaign official couldn't provide more information late Friday night, and the official wouldn't comment whether Eisenberg reached out to the campaign in the past. He was not a volunteer, the official said. Normal campaign activities would resume in Iowa today but it was unclear when the local office would open, the official said.
Clinton, who was not scheduled to be in the state, flew here and addressed the day's events at the Sheraton Harborside Portsmouth hotel where the hostages and their families were staying courtesy of the campaign. Attorney General Kelly Ayotte said her office was providing "victim services" to those taken hostage. Dubois said they were doing well.
Clinton met privately with the victim before appearing with law enforcement officials and taking questions.
"It appears he is someone who was in need of help and sought attention in absolutely the wrong way," she said, according to reports. "It was for me and my campaign an especially tense and difficult day."
Before arriving in the state, she thanked the office workers for their "extraordinary courage and coolness under some very difficult pressures and dangerous situations."
Foster's was the first news organization on the scene after hearing police scanner reports that authorities were setting up a command headquarters in the parking lot of Ben Franklin Crafts around 12:40 p.m. It became clear very quickly that police were dealing with something unusual as they blocked vehicle and pedestrian traffic from traveling along the downtown stretch of North Main Street.
Over time, the parking lot would become filled with State Police cruisers, ambulances, fire engines and special operation vehicles.
Before the full scale evacuation, officers ordered people to clear the street and get inside a secure location. A Foster's reporter ended up inside a law office directly across from Clinton's office, which looked dark, as if the lights were turned off, from what could be seen between campaign signs.
Just before 2 p.m., the situation escalated, with an armored State Police swat team moving in and taking up positions around the office, in alleys, behind cars and, according to some reports, either on rooftops or on the second or third stories of nearby buildings. When this happened, officers widened the perimeter around the building, causing some friction with business owners who wanted to lock up their stores.
"They told me I had to shut down and leave," said one local business owner.
Included in the evacuation was nearby St. Elizabeth Seton School, which sent students to Maple Street School, where parents picked them up.
It wasn't until around 3 p.m. that the first of three remaining hostages would be released. A woman who appeared to be in her early 20s and seemed shaken but composed was escorted by an officer about 50 yards to an unmarked blue cruiser.
Police on the scene soon confirmed that two hostages were released, but no one was sure if there were more inside the office. At a news conference shortly before 5 p.m., city police Capt. Paul Callaghan briefed the huge media pack and spoke of the hostage situation in the present tense, leaving reporters thinking there was another person inside with Eisenberg.
The last hostage was released about a half-hour before Eisenberg was arrested around 6:18 p.m., Booth said.
All normal activity downtown had resumed by 11 p.m. as restaurants reopened and cars once again lined the streets.
The five-member negotiating team was led by 19-year State Police veteran Karen Therrien, who was able to build enough trust with Eisenberg to resolve matters peacefully, Booth said. There were points when Eisenberg would not speak with negotiators, Booth said, but he allowed the office workers to use their cell phones to communicate.
Beyond wanting to talk with Clinton, Eisenberg also requested cigarettes, alcohol and Pepsi - but he only got the cigarettes.
Authorities would not comment as to whether Eisenberg was under the influence of drugs or alcohol or reports that he told a family member to watch the news Friday.
One of the owners of the Governor's Inn, Anthony Ejarque, said Eisenberg's son or stepson came into the restaurant and told the receptionist Eisenberg had been drinking for three days and needed help.
Police would also not comment on reports from CNN that Eisenberg called the network to say he had mental problems but couldn't find help.
As afternoon turned to night, the amount of media that descended on the city grew to proportions sometimes not even seen for regular primary campaign activity. A news helicopter was over the city for much of the afternoon.
Gov. John Lynch and U.S. Reps. Carol Shea-Porter and Paul Hodes, as well as the New Hampshire Democratic Party and Democratic presidential candidates Bill Richardson and John Edwards, all released statements in support of the victims and authorities' response. Nearby offices for Edwards and fellow candidate Barack Obama were also evacuated.
http://fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071201/GJNEWS_01/712010063
Defused: Somersworth man surrenders after more than 5-hour ordeal
Photo Gallery
By ADAM D. KRAUSS
akrauss@fosters.com
Article Date: Saturday, December 1, 2007
ROCHESTER - Authorities were able to convince a Somersworth man who claimed to have a bomb when he took over Hillary Clinton's downtown campaign office Friday to release his hostages and surrender peacefully after a standoff that lasted more than five hours and brought life around downtown to a frightening halt.
It was about 6:15 p.m. when Leeland Eisenberg, 46, of 7 Brook Drive, turned himself over to police who were waiting for him in the middle of the street in front of the 28 North Main St. campaign headquarters of the New York senator and Democratic presidential candidate.
Ending what was a dramatic and at times confusing day, Eisenberg walked out of the brick building, removed what turned out to be road flares that were taped to him with duct tape and followed orders to get on the ground. Dressed in a red tie and white dress shirt, he was handcuffed, hustled into a police vehicle and quickly driven away in custody of city police.
"Thank god it's over," city resident Susan Jackson said moments after the arrest. "I was hoping and praying that they would get this guy."
Eisenberg, who police say had a detonator to make the flares look like a real bomb, was charged with kidnapping, reckless conduct and criminal threatening. Police Chief David Dubois said other local, state and federal agencies - including the FBI, Secret Service, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - would decide if any federal-level charges would be added.
Eisenberg had not been given an arraignment date as of Friday night, and Dubois did not know if he has legal representation.
Dubois said Eisenberg was known to police, which helped in authorities' response.
About a half-hour before Eisenberg surrendered, a male hostage who witnesses said appeared to be in his late teens was released. By 3:35, one female hostage was released and another managed to escape when she had an opportunity, authorities said. A mother and her child, who police said is less than a year old, were released at the outset of the ordeal, which began around 12:40 p.m.
No one was injured, police said.
The office takeover forced the evacuation of all of the buildings on North Main Street and some outlying areas, and police made attempts to contact residents who were not home to make sure they stayed away. Perimeters were set up around the office, effectively locking down downtown from the corner of South Main and Portland streets, over to the area where Wakefield Street meets Columbus Avenue and in the area behind the Clinton office.
The episode also ended what had been a normal day on the campaign trail, one that began with the Clinton campaign pointing out differences with candidates' health care plans. Clinton was scheduled to speak at the Democratic National Committee meeting in Vienna, Va., but she and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, canceled public appearances as they followed the news.
Hillary Clinton was personally in touch with New Hampshire authorities.
"The senator was very supportive of what we were doing and obviously she wanted to see a most successful outcome to this," said State Police Col. Frederick Booth. "What she expressed to me was simply that she did not want to see anybody hurt. ... She offered to do anything we need her to do."
One thing police would not allow her to do was have her or her campaign fulfill Eisenberg's request to speak with the senator.
"From a tactical standpoint that would not have been a wise move for us to do that because if we put that chip up first from the beginning then there was no place to negotiate," Booth said. He declined to say what Eisenberg wanted to speak with her about, only saying the "Clinton campaign may know the answer to that."
A Clinton campaign official couldn't provide more information late Friday night, and the official wouldn't comment whether Eisenberg reached out to the campaign in the past. He was not a volunteer, the official said. Normal campaign activities would resume in Iowa today but it was unclear when the local office would open, the official said.
Clinton, who was not scheduled to be in the state, flew here and addressed the day's events at the Sheraton Harborside Portsmouth hotel where the hostages and their families were staying courtesy of the campaign. Attorney General Kelly Ayotte said her office was providing "victim services" to those taken hostage. Dubois said they were doing well.
Clinton met privately with the victim before appearing with law enforcement officials and taking questions.
"It appears he is someone who was in need of help and sought attention in absolutely the wrong way," she said, according to reports. "It was for me and my campaign an especially tense and difficult day."
Before arriving in the state, she thanked the office workers for their "extraordinary courage and coolness under some very difficult pressures and dangerous situations."
Foster's was the first news organization on the scene after hearing police scanner reports that authorities were setting up a command headquarters in the parking lot of Ben Franklin Crafts around 12:40 p.m. It became clear very quickly that police were dealing with something unusual as they blocked vehicle and pedestrian traffic from traveling along the downtown stretch of North Main Street.
Over time, the parking lot would become filled with State Police cruisers, ambulances, fire engines and special operation vehicles.
Before the full scale evacuation, officers ordered people to clear the street and get inside a secure location. A Foster's reporter ended up inside a law office directly across from Clinton's office, which looked dark, as if the lights were turned off, from what could be seen between campaign signs.
Just before 2 p.m., the situation escalated, with an armored State Police swat team moving in and taking up positions around the office, in alleys, behind cars and, according to some reports, either on rooftops or on the second or third stories of nearby buildings. When this happened, officers widened the perimeter around the building, causing some friction with business owners who wanted to lock up their stores.
"They told me I had to shut down and leave," said one local business owner.
Included in the evacuation was nearby St. Elizabeth Seton School, which sent students to Maple Street School, where parents picked them up.
It wasn't until around 3 p.m. that the first of three remaining hostages would be released. A woman who appeared to be in her early 20s and seemed shaken but composed was escorted by an officer about 50 yards to an unmarked blue cruiser.
Police on the scene soon confirmed that two hostages were released, but no one was sure if there were more inside the office. At a news conference shortly before 5 p.m., city police Capt. Paul Callaghan briefed the huge media pack and spoke of the hostage situation in the present tense, leaving reporters thinking there was another person inside with Eisenberg.
The last hostage was released about a half-hour before Eisenberg was arrested around 6:18 p.m., Booth said.
All normal activity downtown had resumed by 11 p.m. as restaurants reopened and cars once again lined the streets.
The five-member negotiating team was led by 19-year State Police veteran Karen Therrien, who was able to build enough trust with Eisenberg to resolve matters peacefully, Booth said. There were points when Eisenberg would not speak with negotiators, Booth said, but he allowed the office workers to use their cell phones to communicate.
Beyond wanting to talk with Clinton, Eisenberg also requested cigarettes, alcohol and Pepsi - but he only got the cigarettes.
Authorities would not comment as to whether Eisenberg was under the influence of drugs or alcohol or reports that he told a family member to watch the news Friday.
One of the owners of the Governor's Inn, Anthony Ejarque, said Eisenberg's son or stepson came into the restaurant and told the receptionist Eisenberg had been drinking for three days and needed help.
Police would also not comment on reports from CNN that Eisenberg called the network to say he had mental problems but couldn't find help.
As afternoon turned to night, the amount of media that descended on the city grew to proportions sometimes not even seen for regular primary campaign activity. A news helicopter was over the city for much of the afternoon.
Gov. John Lynch and U.S. Reps. Carol Shea-Porter and Paul Hodes, as well as the New Hampshire Democratic Party and Democratic presidential candidates Bill Richardson and John Edwards, all released statements in support of the victims and authorities' response. Nearby offices for Edwards and fellow candidate Barack Obama were also evacuated.