US bank robbers flee with last hostage
(AP)
Updated: 2006-01-11 08:57

Two armed robbers fled a bank near Walt Disney World with one hostage Tuesday after sheriff's deputies tried to end an hours-long standoff by blasting through a rear door.

Deputies were using cell phones to negotiate with the suspects, who were trapped in a car with the female hostage after they tried to escape in a bank employee's vehicle.

They drove less than a mile from the bank but turned around after being surrounded by barricaded streets. The robbers then shot at deputies but nobody was injured, authorities said.

The suspects, who appeared to be wearing heavy coats, masks and wigs, had been holed up in the Mercantile Bank since Tuesday morning. They held four hostages at one point.

Law enforcement officers move into position during a standoff at the Mercantile Bank in Kissimmee, Fla. on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2006.[AP]

The first was released when the robbers panicked when deputies arrived so quickly after the robbery, said sheriff's spokeswoman Twis Lizasuain.

The second was freed in exchange for cigarettes and the third after deputies agreed to back their vehicles a few feet farther away from the bank, Lizasuain said.

Finally, police threw an explosive device into the back of the bank as the robbers ran out the door and jumped into a bank employee's car, authorities said.

Lizasuain said none of the three released hostages was hurt, and the suspects have said they don't intend to harm anyone. She said at least one of the robbers was armed, but did not specify a weapon.

Police shut down the area, leaving some tourists confined to their hotels for much of the day.