A man who took over Hillary Clinton campaign office in New Hampshire released two hostages and a baby and said he wants to speak with the Democratic presidential front-runner, according to the media reports.

The man, who has been described as a local resident in his 40’s walked in Clinton campaign office around 1 p.m. local hour, opened his coat and showed a bomb strapped to his chest with duct tape, WMUR reported. He ordered people to lie down on the floor.

ABC News reported that the man has a  history of mental illness  and told his son to "watch the news today".

A woman in a green sweater was seen near the offices with a SWAT officer around 3:20 p.m., but police would not confirm if she was another released hostage.

A woman with a child escaped at the start of the incident, ran to a nearby medical office and told them to alert police.

Four hours into the incident in the town of Manchester a local police official suggested that hostages may remain in the building.

"It's a fluid situation," police Captain Paul Callaghan told reporters. "We are investigating a hostage situation."

State police major Michael Hambrook said a bomb disposal team had been deployed to the scene and a five-block-square area of downtown Rochester was sealed off and a school was evacuated.

Clinton, who leads national opinion polls for the Democratic Party's 2008 presidential nomination, reportedly cancelled an appearance at a party meeting outside Washington, hundreds of miles away, after news of the hostage-taking.

Her campaign issued a statement saying there was "a situation in our Rochester, New Hampshire office. We are in close contact with state and local authorities and are acting at their direction."

Former president Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton's husband, cancelled a book promotion event Friday in New York after the hostage-taking, news reports said.

In downtown Manchester, campaign offices for rival Democratic candidates Barack Obama and John Edwards also closed.