A TELEVISION report said that none of the slain victims of the August 23 hostage crisis were killed by the Special Weapons and Tactics (Swat) of the Philippine National Police (PNP).
Report said in the initial forensic analysis on the spent shells that were recovered at the scene, it was the hostage-taker, dismissed policeman Rolando Mendoza who shot the eight Hong Kong nationals.
PNP spokesman Agrimero Cruz Jr. said of the 65 spent shells from M16 rifle recovered at the scene, 58 of them came from the firearm used by Mendoza. The seven others are still being studied to determine their origin.
He added the M16 rifle used by the hostage-taker was positive of gun powder nitrates indicating it was repeatedly fired during the incident.
The PNP made the announcement to downplay suspicions that members of the Swat team might have killed some of the hostages during the assault. (Sunnex)