Gunshots heard from hostage bus in Philippines

[ludahai]

link

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A dismissed policeman armed with an automatic rifle seized a bus Monday in the Philippine capital with 25 people on board, mostly Hong Kong tourists. The gunman released nine of the hostages and demanded his job back to free the rest.

Police sharpshooters took positions around the white-blue-red bus, which was parked near a downtown Manila park. The road was sealed off as officers negotiated with the hostage-taker. Ambulances with stretchers and fire trucks were positioned nearby.

Hours after seizing the bus, he released two women, three children, a diabetic man and three Filipinos — including a tour guide and a photographer, police said. The Filipino driver was still on the bus together with 15 tourists.

Wow! This is a pretty scary situation. According to CNN, 21 are from Hong Kong tourists in Manila. This is still ongoing. The bus driver just escaped from the bus. Police seem to be surrounding the bus very closely right now according to the video... Have no idea what is going on inside.

Needless to say, these tourists are not going to be speaking very highly of the Philippine when they get home.

The hostage taker is a former police officer who says he lost his job unfairly. Something tells me this is not going to help him get his job back or a pension.

 

[ludahai]

Philipino TV is saying the remaining passengers are dead according to the driver who escaped... not confirmed yet...

 

[ludahai]

Looks like Manila police officers are getting ready to storm the bus.

The Chinese characters on the bus identify it as KongTai Travel... Apparently it is a Hong Kong company...

 

[American]

link



Wow! This is a pretty scary situation. According to CNN, 21 are from Hong Kong tourists in Manila. This is still ongoing. The bus driver just escaped from the bus. Police seem to be surrounding the bus very closely right now according to the video... Have no idea what is going on inside.

Needless to say, these tourists are not going to be speaking very highly of the Philippine when they get home.

The hostage taker is a former police officer who says he lost his job unfairly. Something tells me this is not going to help him get his job back or a pension.

Sure, he can tell them he understands the mind of a maniac in a hostage situation. :roll:

 

[ludahai]

Sure, he can tell them he understands the mind of a maniac in a hostage situation. :roll:

Humor is not really appropriate at a time like this...

It looks like 15 Hong Kong tourists are dead... The police are in the process of forcing their way on the bus.

The Metro Manila police director says that he has an M-16 and he sprayed the tourists with it... They are apparently either dead or have fatal injuries...

 

[American]

Humor is not really appropriate at a time like this...

It looks like 15 Hong Kong tourists are dead... The police are in the process of forcing their way on the bus.

The Metro Manila police director says that he has an M-16 and he sprayed the tourists with it... They are apparently either dead or have fatal injuries...

I responded to your statement, and I wasn't being funny.

 

[ludahai]

I responded to your statement, and I wasn't being funny.

Well, you were way off base then...

And now, with fifteen murder charges upcoming, the only police officers he will be seeing in the near future will be in a Manila prison.

 

[American]

Humor is not really appropriate at a time like this...

It looks like 15 Hong Kong tourists are dead... The police are in the process of forcing their way on the bus.

The Metro Manila police director says that he has an M-16 and he sprayed the tourists with it... They are apparently either dead or have fatal injuries...

Got a link?

 

[Apocalypse]

Awful.

He should have been killed by now.

 

[ludahai]

Got a link?

Not yet... getting it from both CNN and Philippine TV

 

[ludahai]

Awful.

He should have been killed by now.

He is on a bus with darkly tinted windows and it is currently 8;30 in the evening... hard to get a clear shot... The police are trying to board the bus, but were met with gunfire...

 

[ludahai]

Got a link?

Fit to Post – Yahoo! Philippines News » Blog Archive Lone gunman shoots two hostages, police continue assault «

This source from the Philippines says two, but it may well be out of date...

 

[PeteEU]

Al Jazerra in English are live there.. other channels are wusses and have delayed if at all live coveraged.. just because there was a body hanging out the door at some point.

 

[ludahai]

Al Jazerra in English are live there.. other channels are wusses and have delayed if at all live coveraged.. just because there was a body hanging out the door at some point.

Both CNN and a local Philippine station we get on satellite across the strait are both showing it live...

it appears to be over. but details are still sketchy

 

[American]

Al Jazerra in English are live there.. other channels are wusses and have delayed if at all live coveraged.. just because there was a body hanging out the door at some point.

So your favorite news organization is johnny-on-the-spot. Good for you. Got a link?

 

[ludahai]

It appears now that four of the 15 who were still on the bus have now exited the bus alive... no word on the other 11 at this point...

 

[PeteEU]

Both CNN and a local Philippine station we get on satellite across the strait are both showing it live...

it appears to be over. but details are still sketchy

CNN International and Sky News and BBC cut away and started to send delayed because of the body. Al Jazerra in English did not.

 

[ludahai]

CNN International and Sky News and BBC cut away and started to send delayed because of the body. Al Jazerra in English did not.

CNN Hong Kong did not break away... we have seen it all...

 

[ludahai]

CNN and local Philippine media are reporting that the hostage-taker is dead...

Bodies have been seen, but can't confirm how many or who they are...

 

[Apocalypse]

Looks like it's over, the hostage taker is said to have been killed.

 

[Apocalypse]

CNN Hong Kong did not break away... we have seen it all...

That's very unprofessional.
Graphic images should not be shown on international media when possible.

 

[ludahai]

Looks like it's over, the hostage taker is said to have been killed.

Seven people have come off the bus... eight -- fate still unknown...

 

[ludahai]

That's very unprofessional.
Graphic images should not be shown on international media when possible.

It isn't as taboo in this part of the world as it is in Western countries...

 

[Jetboogieman]

Bloody end to Philippines hostage drama - CNN.com

Manila, Philippines (CNN) -- At least seven hostages appear to have survived the 10-hour hijacking of a bus in the heart of the Philippines capital Monday, and the hostage-taker was shot dead, a CNN producer at the scene said.

Police said at least two hostages were killed on the bus, which had 15 hostages on board when police stormed it. Nine hostages and the driver had been released earlier. It was unclear if the other six are alive or dead.

Glad the ****er was shot.

I wonder if there'll be an investigation into if the police acted too hastily, I mean surely a 20 hour siege with with no deaths is better then 10 with deaths. I wonder if the police got too impatient with the hostage taker, or if there was absolutely no reasoning with him. Thing is I don't know how well prepared the police were for this kind of situation, how experienced and compitent their negotiators were etc.

But at this moment, glad it's over. and condolences to the families of the Victims, this was a really unfortunate incident.

Glad the bastard got cooked. What he deserves.

 

[ludahai]

Now, the government of Hong Kong has issued a black travel alert, calling all Hong Kong tourists home and telling Hong Kong tourists not to visit the Philippines. They say the Manila police didn't care for the people of Hong Kong who were on the tour bus. And Philipinos resident in Hong Kong (there are something like 100,000) fear for their own safety. There was a march on the Philippine consulate in Hong Kong and the Chinese government has condemned the handling of this.

I think this is all absurd.

1. Hong Kong's Black travel alert is a gross overreaction. There is no evidence that this deranged individual specifically targeted Hong Kong/Chinese tourists.

2. What did they expect them to do? The guy had an M-16, was talking with negotiators until the last hour when things took a massive turn for the worse. The blinds were drawn on the bus and by the time things turned ugly, it was night. And, as is common throughout this region, the windows on the bus were heavily tinted. What did they expect the police to go... go in guns a blazing when they have no idea who is where and the guy has 15 hostages with an M-16?!?!? Am I the only person who things this is moronic?!?!?

This is a tragedy, but let's NOT overreact to this. This wasn't an assault against Hong Kong/Chinese citizens. This was a lone, deparate man who apparently randomly chose this bus because he lost control after being wrongly (at least in his opinion) discharged from his position.