Gunman takes hostages at Denver postal facility
DENVER (CNN) -- A former postal worker armed with a shotgun took at least three people hostage inside a huge sorting facility of the U.S. Postal Service on Wednesday, police said.
The approximately 3,000 employees who work at the facility were evacuated, and police surrounded the area, officials told CNN.
Police Sgt. Dennis Cribari said the hostage taker was in a supervisor's office where he was holding the hostages.
"Our officers have been in contact," Cribari said. "Negotiations are ongoing. He's been willing to talk to the negotiators."
Cribari described the situation as "fairly stable."
Postal spokesman John Freeman talks about the man holding hostages |
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John Freeman, an inspector with the U.S. Postal Service, told CNN the suspect was a former postal employee who had been fired last year for making "threats against a supervisor."
Jim Lambert, a postal worker, said the gunman took the hostages into an office near a loading dock.
The facility is about 1,400 yards (meters) long, and serves as the main sorting facility for Colorado and Wyoming.
Correspondent Alan Duke contributed to this report.