Several Hostages Taken at T.J. Maxx in Florida

[FLORIDA J]

FOX News - Two masked men armed with guns entered a T.J. Maxx clothing store in a southwest Florida shopping mall Tuesday night and held eight employees hostage for at least 3 hours, local media reported.

Seven of the eight hostages were freed after dozens of SWAT team members, backed by two helicopters, surrounded the store in Venice. The final hostage, a 16-year-old girl, reportedly hid from the gunmen and was injured and dragged out of the store on a blanket. It was unclear how her injuries occurred.

At one point a police car drove to within 10 feet of the entrance of the store behind a concrete pillar and several SWAT team officers wearing body armor appeared to be talking to the gunmen.

Shortly before midnight, there were reports that a single gunshot was heard inside the store.

According to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, the gunmen tied up employees using Ziptape while making their demands. It was unclear what those were.

As of 2 a.m. ET, police and a K-9 unit had not located the assailants and were still searching for them.

The workers who had been held in the store gave police conflicting information about the incident. Witnesses said they saw three people running out of the store, and they appeared to be tied up.

According to the Venice Police Department, about 15 employees were at the store closing up around 9:30 p.m. when the two gunmen entered.

A manager for the store said that, at most, $12,000 cash could be on hand.

Venice, a coastal community, is located 70 miles south of Tampa.