Police sniper kills hostage-taker in Laguna

LAGUNA, Philippines – A police sniper shot dead a man who held hostage an 11-year-old girl for one hour in San Pedro City, investigators said yesterday.

San Pedro police chief Superintendent Cecilio Ison said the still unidentified suspect was shot in the head and was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he died.

Ison said the hostage, Majessin Sison, was not hurt after she was rescued by police officers from the wounded hostage-taker.

He said the suspect entered Sison’s house by scaling the fence at around noon and grabbed the girl, while the victim’s grandmother Anito Sison ran to a neighbor’s house.

Police officers tried to negotiate with the  hostage-taker, who had a kitchen knife pressed against the girl’s neck throughout the hour-long hostage drama.

Ison said the man demanded P10,000, a gun and a police patrol vehicle.

Police tried to offer some money to the suspect, but he changed his mind and refused to talk again with the negotiators.

After an hour, the police said the negotiations failed and the life of the victim was in imminent danger.

Ison said a police sniper whose identity was withheld was ordered to shoot the hostage-taker at will.