Surrender At Kansas Bank

A woman who said she was upset about losing her job and had no hope for the future took a group of employees hostage inside a suburban Kansas City bank Friday, then surrendered about eight hours later after setting her captives free.

Olathe police Lt. Larry Griffin said he did not know what prompted the woman to surrender. She was taken into custody.

One person was released about four hours after the standoff began, and two others who had been held throughout the ordeal were unharmed when the woman gave herself up around 1 a.m., police said.

A group of at least five people left the bank just before 10 p.m. and at least four others managed to escape at different times while negotiations continued, Griffin said. He could not provide details of where the people hid or how they escaped from the large bank, which has several different doors.

All were in good condition, Griffin said, and were reunited with family and friends.

FBI spokesman Jeff Lanza declined to release the suspect's name. He said she could be charged on Saturday.

Earlier police reports that two suspects were involved in the standoff were incorrect, said Griffin, who did not give any more details.

One of the bank employees inside the building had earlier called KMBC-TV and said everyone was being treated well.

The hostage-taker then took the phone and said she was upset because she had lost her job, her family and all hope for the future. She said she would release the hostages if she could talk to a friend named Sean.

"Once I talk to Sean, then I'll talk to them, that's when it all ends," the suspect said. "I want to talk to Sean face-to-face first before I talk to anyone else."

At one point, she yelled to the hostages, "Are you being harmed?" and people in the background were heard saying "No."

Police said no shots had been fired although the woman was believed to have a handgun.

The woman entered the Bank of America branch, a free-standing building in an Olathe shopping district, as it was closing shortly after 5 p.m. on New Year's Eve, Lanza said.

With a SWAT team surrounding the building, police tried negotiating with the woman by phone. Officials said the woman had abruptly broken off talks at least once.

Police were tipped by a frantic call from inside the bank, Griffin said.

The police department had increased the number of officers on patrol in case of trouble New Year's Eve, and an officer was in the area when the call came in, Lanza said.

Early in the standoff, one hostage walked outside the bank, retrieved something from a car belonging to the suspect and went back inside, Lanza said.

Officials would not release further details.

Lanza said the incident was the Kansas City area's first hostage situation at a bank in about nine years.