MANILA: Heavily armed police were in a standoff Monday with a disgruntled former security guard who took at least 30 people hostage in a Philippines shopping mall. Workers and customers streamed out of the V-Mall shopping centre in Manila early Monday after gunshots rang out and armed officers rushed to the scene. "We have confirmed reports of... a hostage-taking of some of our employees by a former... security guard," the mall management said in a statement. Authorities have begun negotiating with the hostage taker, who has demanded to speak with other guards and the media. Manila was the site of high-profile 2010 hostage taking that ended in the deaths of eight tourists from Hong Kong.

Source: New Strait Times March 02, 2020 06:56 UTC