Man Held After Taking Clinton Staff Hostage

A man claiming to have a bomb strapped to his chest held a number of people hostage at Hillary Clinton's campaign offices in New Hampshire for five hours, before surrendering to police yesterday.

The man, described as middle aged with a history of mental instability, had entered Clinton's campaign office in Rochester demanding to meet the Democrat to talk about mental health services.

Clinton was at a Democratic National Committee meeting in Washington, but the episode cast a pall over the primary election campaign. Other Democratic contenders shut down their campaign offices in Rochester and Clinton and her husband, Bill, canceled speeches yesterday.

Police said the man, identified as Lee Eisenberg, entered the office at lunch time claiming to have explosives on his body. He ordered campaign workers to the floor, but allowed a mother and baby to leave.

The woman told the authorities of the assailant's claim that he had a bomb. "She said, 'You need to call 911. A man has just walked into the Clinton office, opened his coat and showed us a bomb strapped to his chest with duct tape," a witness, Lettie Tzizik, told local radio.

New Hampshire media quoted local people in Rochester as saying that the man was well known in the area, and had been said by family members to be armed only with road flares. He had been scheduled to appear in court yesterday.

The suspect released another woman and police then sent in a mobile phone to try to open communications. He left the building and peacefully surrendered to police nearly six hours later.