Facebook hostage-taker in Pittsburgh surrenders Harper said it was helpful that the hostage-taker could see "that people are concerned about his well-being," but added: "It is a distraction for negotiating. We hope his friends will stop communicating with him. Thaxton's profile page had featured an image of a man's torso alongside pictures of President Barack Obama, Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmedinejad. At one point during the siege he posted a message saying "how this ends is up to yall." Another message said: "i cant take it no more im done bro." He also posted his mobile telephone number. Some local reports suggested this was where police obtained his number to start negotiations. A further Facebook message from Thaxton said: "this life im livn rite now i dnt want anymore ive lost everything and i aint getting it back." In another post, apparently addressed to his father, he wrote: "welln pops youll never have to worry about me again you'll nevr need to by me anything no need to ever waste ur hard earned money on me. i'll live n jail you dnt want me around anymore thats kool bye..." Later, he asked others to stop posting "silly" things to his page, adding: "i aint laughin rite now." Thaxton had entered the office of a company that administers pensions and took the founder hostage. It was not clear what led him to target the company, CW Breitsman Associates. Police said Thaxton had a military background. He also had a criminal record that included a guilty plea to robbery earlier this year. He had remained calm and was cooperative during negotiations, police said, and made no demands. During the siege a police spokesman said: "He is not telling negotiators why he's doing this." Officers brought the suspect's mother to the building and she was allowed inside to speak to him. She didn't know what drove him to take a hostage, according to police. Ronda Thaxton told reporters she last saw her son a few weeks ago, when he had visited with some laundry for her. She said: "I felt something was wrong, but I just couldn't put my finger on it."