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Manila bus hostage-taker killed, some hostages alive
The end of the day-long stand-off came more than an hour after police commandos had moved in to surround the bus following a series of shots heard by a Reuters reporter at the scene. The driver of the bus was seen running to safety after the gunshots. A police spokesman said commandos had earlier shot out the tires of the bus to immobilize the vehicle.
The gunman, identified as 55-year-old Rolando Mendoza who was armed with an M-16 assault rifle, had stopped the bus, which initially had 25 people on board, across a wide road in Manila’s biggest park on Monday morning.
Mendoza had threatened to kill the hostages in a live telephone interview with a local radio station.
“I can see there are many SWAT teams arriving, they are all around,” Mendoza, speaking in Tagalog, had said. “I know they will kill me, I’m telling them to leave because anytime I will do the same here.” Earlier, via a handwritten note stuck to the bus door, Mendoza said a “big deal” would happen after 3 p.m. (0700 GMT), but the deadline passed without incident.
Six Hong Kong nationals and two Filipinos, mainly women and children, had been released before the deadline and a ninth, another Filipino, was freed after it had passed.
Mendoza had earlier asked for food for those remaining on the bus, which was delivered, and fuel to keep the air-conditioning going during the heat.
Mendoza’s brother, Gregorio, told a local TV station that his brother was upset by his dismissal from the force. Local media said he had been sacked for reasons including extortion, and due to his sacking he had lost his retirement benefits.
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