UPDATE: Wytheville standoff suspect was angry at federal government

WYTHEVILLE — A man accused of taking three people hostage in a Virginia post office told them he was angry at the federal government because his son had died in Afghanistan and his beloved truck was about to repossessed, one of the hostages said Thursday.

Suspected hostage-taker Warren “Gator” Taylor, 53, of Sullivan County, Tenn., was arraigned Thursday on kidnapping and other federal charges. The hostages were released unharmed after about eight hours Wednesday and Taylor surrendered without incident.

Federal officials said Taylor was angry at the federal government and told them he had planned the stand-off for months or years.

Hostage Jimmy Oliver said Taylor told him he picked the small-town Wytheville post office at random be-cause he was driving through the Blue Ridge Mountain town and it reminded him of Gatlinburg, Tenn., a tourist destination three hours away.

“He was really down on the government,” Oliver told The Associated Press on Thursday in an interview at his mother’s floral shop. “About the government taking over the right to bear arms ... he was angry at the government over taxing us.”

Oliver said the man told the hostages his son had died in Afghanistan two months ago, though that could not be immediately confirmed. He also said he was dodging attempts to repossess his red pickup truck.

Oliver was at the post office to mail Christmas presents to his family when a man pushed his wheelchair in and slammed what looked like a bomb on the counter.

The man, who had four guns, fired a shot at the postmaster as he fled, then ordered Oliver and two other people to get down on the floor, Oliver said.

Oliver suspected the man might have served in the military, so he tried to bond with him by introducing himself and talking about his own military service. He said the man asked a negotiator for a pizza he shared with the hostages and asked for cigarettes for Oliver to smoke.

At some points during the ordeal, Oliver said, he feared for his life, but he tried to win the man’s trust.

“I thought about my family and my kids and I had to stay calm,” Oliver said.

Toward the end of the eight hours, Oliver said, the man apologized to him and the other two hostages.

Taylor did the same in federal court in Roanoke.

“I’m sorry I got everybody out on Christmas,” Taylor said. He appeared in his wheelchair, wearing blue jeans and a black T-shirt, and made no other public statements.

Taylor, who is being represented by a federal public defender, was ordered to be evaluated at a federal prison medical facility to determine whether he is mentally fit for the criminal proceedings.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Urbanski set no firm timetable, but said a competency hearing will follow the evaluation, which will likely take place in Butner, N.C.

Taylor waived his preliminary hearing and didn’t argue for bail but had his lawyer ask about accommodations for his health conditions. Taylor, who has a prosthetic leg, has diabetes, public defender Randy Cargill said.

UPDATE
WYTHEVILLE — State police say a daylong standoff at a small-town post office has ended with three hostages being released and a suspect in custody.

Authorities late Wednesday ordered the suspect to let the hostages go and come out with his hands up.

Soon after, the four left the building in Virginia, including a man in a wheelchair. State police Sgt. Michael Conroy says that man is the suspect.

Earlier, state police said the man holding the hostages had entered the building pushing a wheelchair.

Conroy says authorities believe all the hostages are out. Officers are still checking the building in western Virginia.

Shots were fired earlier, but there were no reports of injuries. Relatives say the hostages have been able to contact them by phone.

Earlier:

WYTHEVILLE — An armed man in a wheelchair took five hostages Wednesday at a post office in western Virginia, forcing officials to cordon off three blocks 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. State police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said authorities are negotiating with the suspect.

Virginia State Police sent in a SWAT team and a bomb technician. Police at the scene told the Wytheville Enterprise the man had what appeared to be five pounds of a common plastic explosive strapped to his chest. 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 what appeared to be 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.

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 wait-ing 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.”

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.”

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, W.Va., were at the scene.

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.

Wytheville is the county seat of Wythe County, in southwest Virginia.