An active hostage situation was reported from the Phillippines as a security guard at a Manila mall took several employees hostage. After hours of negotiation, the hostages have finally been released by an aggrieved security guard.
Earlier, gunshots were reported from Manila's V-Mall.
It was believed that the security guard who had taken the employees hostage was aggrieved with his senior officials. Security officials of a Greenhills mall and Sascor Armor Security Agency apologised to hostage-taker Archie Paray and said that they would resign from their posts as resolution to the issue.
“A fellow security guard was injured, but has already been brought to the hospital. Our priority right now is to ensure the safety of the employees, and of the public,” Greenhills Center Management statement read.
The shopping complex, popular for its restaurants, shops, bars and a bazaar, lies near an upscale residential enclave, a golf club and the police and military headquarters in the bustling metropolis of more than 12 million people, where law and order have long been a concern.
Three years ago, a gunman stormed a mall-casino complex in Manila, shot TV monitors and set gambling tables on fire, killing 36 people who were mostly suffocated by the thick smoke. The gunman stole casino chips before he fled but was found dead in an apparent suicide in an adjacent hotel at the Resorts World Manila complex.
The attack, which caused guests and shoppers to flee to safety, was claimed by the Islamic State group, but Philippine authorities rejected the claim, saying the attacker was not a Muslim militant but a heavily indebted gambler.
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