(UPDATE 15) More shots were heard from the bus where a lone gunman was holding Hong Kong tourists hostage since Monday morning.
Radio Mindanao Network reports that a child was hit by a stray bullet as police started its assault on the hostage-taker.
The crisis was being broadcast live on national television.
Multiple gunshots were heard moments before the heavily-armed police approached the bus, parked in Manila’s historic tourist district.
Ten minutes after the police approached the bus, they still could not get inside. There were no clear signs of movement from within the bus.
Fifteen tourists from Hong Kong were believed to be on the bus when police stormed it.
An ex-policeman armed with an M-16 assault rifle took the people on board the bus hostage on Monday in a desperate bid to get his job back.
The Filipino driver of the bus jumped out of a window and escaped just before police approached, with the scenes aired live on television.
The gunman, who took control of the bus almost 10 hours ago, said he had shot two of his captives and would kill the others if police did not meet his demands.
“I shot two Chinese. I will finish them all if they do not stop,” former senior police inspector Rolando Mendoza told the Radio Mindanao Network before police moved in on the vehicle and smashed its windows.
Shots were heard from the bus but it was not immediately clear if any of the hostages had been killed or wounded during the crisis, which has been played out live on national television.
The police at the scene started its assault on the hijacked bus at around 7:20 p.m.
Radio reports said that the bus driver who escaped the bus screamed, “Patay na ang lahat ng mga tao [Hostages are dead].” Police have not confirmed if hostages were killed.
“I can see a lot of SWAT (special weapons and tactics police) coming in. I know they will kill me. They should all leave because anytime I will do the same here,” the gunman told the Radio Mindanao Network.
They were the first public comments from the gunman, former senior police inspector Rolando Mendoza, since he took a busload of mainly Hong Kong tourists hostage on Monday morning.
The disgruntled ex-policeman armed with an assault rifle hijacked a bus carrying more than 20 Hong Kong tourists including children.
The gunman boarded the bus in Manila’s historic tourist district in the morning and then released nine people throughout the day as he demanded that he get his job back and be allowed to speak to the media.
Around 5:20 p.m. (Manila time), a shot was heard from inside the hijacked bus, dzBB reports.
The Palace has ordered police to ensure the safety of foreigners who were taken hostage by a former policeman.
“We have asked the law enforcement agencies on the ground to put primary consideration to the lives and safety of the people involved, which are foreign tourists,” said Presidential Communications Operations Head, Secretary Herminio Coloma.
Coloma said the hostage taking need not alarm the international community because it is an isolated incident.
“We just need to view this in perspective as an isolated incident and does not reflect the real situation of our country today,” Coloma said.
Armed commandos were surrounding the vehicle as the hostage drama was aired live on national television, with footage showing some of the hostages peering out through the windows.
The gunman, identified as former senior police inspector Rolando Mendoza, 55, was carrying an M-16 assault rifle, but no shooting was heard and there were no reports of any injuries among the hostages.
As negotiators were brought in to try to end the standoff, Mendoza wrote threatening messages on white paper which he stuck to the glass door of the bus.
“Big deal will start after 3.00 pm (0700 GMT) today,” one of the messages said, although police did not say what they thought he meant.
When that deadline expired six hours into the crisis with no major new development, the suspect posted a new sign that read “media now” and demanded that he be able to speak with reporters on the scene.
Mendoza was honoured by police chiefs in 1986 as one of the top 10 officers in the country. But he was discharged in 2008 for his alleged involvement in drug-related crimes and extortion, according to police.
“He wants to be reinstated in the service,” Manila district police chief Superintendent Rodolfo Magtibay said.
Another message Mendoza posted on the bus read: “Big mistake for big wrong decision”, apparently in reference to his sacking.
Philippine authorities said 22 tourists from Hong Kong were originally on board the bus, along with the local driver and two other Filipinos.
Seven of the tourists, including three children and an elderly man, as well two Filipinos, were released in various stages throughout the day.
It was not immediately clear why they were released, but the police spokesman on the scene, chief inspector Erwin Margarejo, said it showed the talks were having results.
“It is a sign that the negotiations resulted in something good,” he said adding that Mendoza’s attitude was “courteous”.
Mendoza also allowed police to bring in food — fried chicken and other meals from a local fast food chain — to the hostages.
Joseph Tung, executive director of the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong, said the tourists on the bus were aged between four and 72. They were on a three-day tour and were scheduled to return to Hong Kong late Monday.
“We have never had anything like this before — we are very much concerned,” Tung said in Hong Kong.
It was not clear whether Mendoza had released all the children on board, or whether there were still others being held hostage.
Television footage showed some of the adult hostages looking tensely out from behind the bus curtains, but showing no signs of being injured.
The bus was parked in front of a grandstand at Rizal Park, a popular tourist destination just a few blocks from police headquarters.
As the crisis dragged on, police called in Mendoza’s brother, who is also a police officer, to help in the negotiations.
Monday’s bus hijack recalled a similar hostage-taking in 2007, when a troubled civil engineer armed with a grenade took over a bus and held 30 children but freed them after a 10-hour standoff with police.
The 2007 drama took place near Manila city hall, just off Rizal Park.
Monday’s hostage-taking came hours after a South Korean man was killed in a separate attack on a vehicle by gunmen elsewhere in Manila. Police said the incidents were not related.
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