Standoff gunmen still at large

Authorities are looking for two gunmen they say held employees of a TJ Maxx hostage in Venice for several hours Tuesday night.

One of the employees made a frantic call to 911 moments after being released. She said she came face to face with one of the gunmen.

Police say the men were dressed in black from head to toe when they entered the store and took at least seven employees and shoppers in the store hostage. One employee, too frightened to give her name was back at work the next day.

"Before I knew it, the gun was in our face and he asked me to get on the floor and put my hands behind my back," she explained.

Less than 15 minutes later the swat team arrived. For three hours, tensions mounted outside while onlookers could only imagine what was happening inside.

Three hours later, the final hostages emerged alone. One employee who was pushed to the ground by a gunman needed some help, but wasn't seriously injured.

Swat went in and searched, but found nothing. The men were already gone.

"Well we've got our detective division working with the sarasota county sheriff's department detective division to see if we can develop any leads," according to Capt. Tom McNulty with The Venice Police Department.

By daylight Wednesday, it was business as usual at T.J.Maxx. The company released a statement which reads in part:

'The safety and well being of our customers and Associates is always of the utmost importance and a primary concern. As a result of this attempted armed robbery last night, one of our Associates was taken to the hospital for precautionary measures and thankfully, has been released. We are relieved that none of our other Associates or customers who were restrained last night were physically harmed.'

The employee who was too frightened to show her face on camera was still shaken, but certain that the men responsible will be caught.

"They've certainly gone down the wrong path and they will pay for it I'm sure in the end," she added.

Police say they do believe robbery is the motive though they won't say how much money or what types of things the men took from the store.

Since the faces of the men were covered, they're having trouble with a description. They are hoping surveillance footage from the store might help them with some of the details.