Emeryville Hostage Situation Comes to an End

Office Depot employee caught on camera letting the suspect inside

A suspect who held hostages overnight at an Emeryville office supply store in a botched attempt to rob the store was taken into custody this morning, an Oakland police officer said.

After police reviewed surveillance video from the store, an employee was also arrested for allegedly assisting the suspect with entering the store to commit the robbery, police spokeswoman Holly Joshi said.

The 45-year-old suspect from Oakland held an unknown number of people hostage at an Office Depot at 3535 Hollis St. starting at 9:36 p.m. Police were in a standoff with the suspect for six and a half hours, Oakland police Officer Kevin McDonald said.

Police entered the building around 4 a.m., shortly after which the suspect was taken into custody. When police entered the store it appeared the hostages had been released, McDonald said.

Joshi said that all of the employees were able to escape from the store unharmed. The suspect was transported to a hospital for treatment of injuries he received while attempted to hide in the store, Joshi said.

The nearby Home Depot hardware store had been evacuated Friday night, and most of the Office Depot employees were out of the building late Friday night, according to police.

Roads around the area had been closed, but were expected to be reopened this morning, police said.

The Office Depot is located at the Oakland-Emeryville border, and Emeryville police also responded to the scene.

The investigation is ongoing, and anyone with information is asked to contact the Oakland Police Department's Major Crimes Unit at (510) 238-3326.

Bay City News contributed to this report.
 

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