Employees safe after armed robbery at post office at Hessen Cassel & McKinnie

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE)Police are still search for two people who robbed a Fort Wayne post office Wednesday afternoon which forced the closure of a busy intersection and caused police to prepare for a possible hostage situation.

According to Fort Wayne Police Public Information Officer Raquel Foster, a postal employee called 911 at 3:33 pm after two people wearing masks and armed with guns entered the Diplomat Plaza Post Office located at 4171 Hessen Cassel Road.at around 3:30.  

The employee told police that she and other employees had moved to a safe part of the building and that the gunmen were still inside.  Customers were also inside the post office when the robbery took place.

Not knowing if they were dealing with a hostage situation, the Emergency Services Team and the Crisis Response Team were called in.  Police set up a perimeter and evacuated several apartment units in an apartment complex nearby.  Police also closed off traffic at the intersection of Hessen Cassel and McKinnie.  

Shortly after arriving on the scene, one person who identified herself as a customer surrendered to police.  The Emergency Services Team then went inside the post office and brought four employees out safely.  The Emergency Services Team searched the building, but didn't find anyone.  

No shots were fired during the robbery and no one was injured.  Police did not say what the robbers took.  

The Hessen Cassel Mckinnie intersection was opened back up at around 6:30.  

The US Postal Inspector is also involved with the investigation.

When police responded to the scene, they did not know if the suspects were still inside the building or not. Police therefore initially treated the scene as a hostage situation to ensure the safety of everyone potentially in the building and in the area.

Just before 6 p.m., police completed a search of the building and verified that the suspects were not in the building. The four employees were being rescued by authorities and taken to the police station to be interviewed by detectives.

The intersection of Hessen Cassel Road and McKinnie Avenue was closed as police  investigated the scene.