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Friday, May 30, 2008
Police killed bus hostage-taker in Pampanga
LUBAO -- Police killed a man who had allegedly fatally shot one of his hostages in a bus Thursday in Pampanga province.
Superintendent Edwin Mangaliman, police chief of Lubao township in northern Pampanga province who also acted as hostage negotiator, said he tried to subdue the gunman, but the gunman fought back.
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An officer had to shoot the hostage-taker as they grappled over the gunman's weapon, Mangaliman said.
Police decided to make the move because the gunman appeared unstable and his "mood often changed" and could harm more hostages, Mangaliman said.
"By God's mercy, no other hostage was harmed," he said.
The five-hour hostage crisis began when security guard Rey Rigor, who was armed with a revolver and a knife, opened fire inside the bus while it was passing through Lubao, wounding two male passengers.
Bus driver Raphy Pascual said he heard two shots and immediately pulled over and opened the bus doors to let passengers escape.
He said he and his conductor helped out a man with a bullet wound in the stomach. Another wounded man was later freed by the gunman, but police said he died on the way to a hospital.
Pascual said he estimated about 10 passengers were still inside the bus when its doors slammed shut -- possibly triggered by a passenger accidentally pressing the door control button in the rush to escape.
Mangaliman said Rigor appeared troubled with a family problem.
Mangaliman said Rigor did not have any specific demand and refused to talk on the telephone with his wife, who was on Negros island.
Over the course of the negotiations, Rigor was persuaded to free two children, the two wounded male passengers and several female passengers.
By the time police ended the hostage crisis, only three female hostages remained in the bus, Mangaliman said.
Police have diverted traffic away from the busy highway, which connects Pampanga to Bataan province, where the bus was headed from Manila. (AP)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Davao. (May 30, 2008 issue)
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