FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WOWO): Just before 11 p.m. Wednesday, officers were called to AJ's Locker Room, a clothing store on Pettit Ave., in reference to a holdup alarm.

Once on the scene, an employee told officers his family was being held hostage outside, but he was told not to contact police. He added that earlier, a group of people broke into his home and demanded he take them to the store to open the safe.

All four family members were bound with duct tape, and had their heads covered with cloth. The man claims he was also pistol whipped 2-3 times.

The victim told police he remembers hearing at least one woman's voice in the group of perpetrators, and believes some of them were wearing red bandanas, and that one in particular was a thin brunette with gray eyes. He adds that some were black and some were white.

Some of the suspects took the man and his mother into the family's mini van, and drove the vehicle to AJ's. The father and daughter were in another vehicle. The man recalls one vehicle was a navy blue SUV, and the other, an older style pickup truck.

The father and sister were eventually released at a nearby gas station and were discovered by police a short time later.

Meanwhile, at AJ's, the man and his mother were forced to load items from the store into a vehicle. The incident remains under investigation.