Three suspects are in custody after a SWAT team was called in to help foil an armed robbery at a liquor store in Midlothian.

Midlothian police responded to Emporium Liquor at about 10:15 a.m. Wednesday to find two people leaving the store, one carrying merchandise and another with a ski mask. Officers posted on social media 45 minutes later, warning residents to stay away from the area surrounding the store.

The suspects forced an employee into a backroom at gunpoint before confronting the store’s clerk, Emporium Liquor manager Anuj Soni said.

Customers later told Midlothian police the intruders made them lay on the floor of the liquor store at gunpoint.

One suspect fled in a van, then on foot, Chief Daniel Delaney wrote on Facebook Wednesday evening. Officers arrested him after a brief chase.

The other suspect ran into the store, where he and a third suspect armed with a handgun barricaded themselves inside a beer cooler, Delaney wrote.

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At this point, the Midlothian Police Department called in the South Suburban Emergency Response Team to help extract the suspects from the beer cooler.

“After a lengthy negotiation with SSERT operators, both suspects ultimately surrendered without incident,” Delaney wrote.

South Suburban Emergency Response Team draws officers from 34 police departments in the south suburbs to form an emergency response SWAT team.

“We’re doing all right,” Soni said. “We were watching the cameras … everyone’s safe, and the suspects were caught, so we’re happy here.”

All three suspects are being held at the Midlothian police station. They will face felony charges, Delaney wrote, and are also wanted for armed robbery in Indiana.

After the three were arrested, members of the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms swept the store for more weapons.

No one was harmed during the robbery attempt. Emporium Liquor is open for business as usual, Soni said.