Standoff ends at TJ Maxx in Venice

Two masked gunmen entered the T.J. Maxx store in Venice Tuesday night, holding at least seven employees hostage for several hours.

The armed men busted into the store on the U.S. Highway 41 Bypass right around closing at 9:30 p.m., hoping to rob it, according to the Venice Police Department.

A SWAT team arrived about 15 minutes later and it wasn't long before three of hostages were released, all of them with their hands bound by tape, police said.

"They were screaming and they was a nervous wreck and they were tied up," witness Chuck Kaylor said. "And the police told them to raise their hands, and they couldn't obviously."

The remaining employees walked out of the store on their own about 12:30 a.m., except for one who needed to be pulled out of the store by an officer.

"She was shoved to the ground by one of the suspects," Sarasota County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Wendy Rose said.

The SWAT team and K-9 crews searched the entire store, but were unable to locate the gunmen.

They are still actively searching for both men, but since they were wearing ski masks, police do not have a good description of either one of them.