A woman is escorted away from the Clinton office after being released.

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ROCHESTER, N.H. —  A man claiming to have an explosive device strapped to his body released the two hostages he was holding Friday afternoon at the Rochester, N.H., campaign headquarters of Sen. Hillary Clinton, law enforcement officials told FOX News.

The hostages — believed to be staffers — included a woman with a child.

ABC News reported that police believe the man is a local resident with a history of mental illness, and that he told his son to "watch the news today."

The drama began to unfold just after 1 p.m. Friday when local news reported a man walked into the campaign office saying he wanted to speak with Clinton, a federal source told FOX News.

Clinton was not in New Hampshire at the time.

Police and SWAT teams were using loudspeakers to communicate with the man, and there are reports that police have tried to arrange for a cell phone to be given to him.

"There is an ongoing situation in our Rochester, N.H., office. We are in close contact with state and local authorities and are acting at their direction. We will release additional details as appropriate," a campaign release issued about 2:45 p.m. ET.

Clinton canceled her speech that was scheduled for Friday afternoon at the Democratic National Committee fall meeting in Northern Virginia, party chair Howard Dean announced.

Clinton was said to be monitoring the situation from her Washington, D.C., home. Husband Bill Clinton has a scheduled event in Newton, Iowa, acting as a surrogate for his wife.

Sharpshooters have been positioned near the building, and at least one bomb squad unit also is on the scene.

Other nearby presidential campaign offices including those for Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and John Edwards, have been evacuated, as well as other nearby businesses, according to news reports.

WMUR reported that witness Lettie Tzizik said she spoke to a woman shortly after she was released from the office by the suspect. The woman was carrying an infant, and crying.

"She said, ‘You need to call 911. A man has just walked into the Clinton office, opened his coat and showed us a bomb strapped to his chest with duct tape," Tzizik said.

The assailant is being described as in his 40s with salt-and-pepper hair.

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