Philippines: Gunman surrenders after taking dozens hostage in Manila mall

Archie Paray, a gunman and former security guard, surrenders and releases dozens of hostages outside a mall in San Juan, Metro Manila.

A screengrab showing the scene in Manila's VMall where a hostage-taking incident ended on Monday evening with the gunman's surrender.

The hostage-taker has reportedly surrendered early on Monday evening after hours of negotiations. Photo shows heavily-armed police deployed at VMall in San Juan, a suburb of the Philippine capital Manila. A disgruntled security guard, who was sacked after going absent without leave, shot one person and held a group of up to 30 people hostage.

The gunman who has taken hostage dozens show their situation on video call with a policeman, as witnessed by members of the media outside a mall in San Juan City, Metro Manila.

The gunman who has hostaged at least a dozen people shows a grenade on a video call with a policeman.

The wife (front C) of a man who shot one person and was holding around 30 others hostage at a mall, arrives at the scene in suburban Manila.

Philippine police on Monday surrounded a shopping mall in an upscale section of Manila after a recently dismissed security guard opened fire and took dozens of people hostage, an official said.

Mayor Francis Zamora of San Juan city in Manila said the gunman, who was armed with a pistol, shot one person at the V-Mall.

The victim was in stable condition at a nearby hospital.

Zamora said a police negotiator was trying to talk to the gunman - a disgruntled former security guard at the shopping complex - inside a mall administration office.

"He felt bad because he was removed as a guard," Zamora told reporters, adding that the man tried but failed to convince fellow guards to join him. Aside from a pistol, the hostage taker was yelling that he had a grenade, but authorities could not immediately confirm that, Zamora said.

"We have evacuated all the people in the shopping center and we're in a lockdown here in the entire mall," he said.

More than a dozen SWAT commandos were earlier seen entering the mall, their assault rifles ready.

Other policemen stood by outside, along with an ambulance.

An initial police report said the hostage taker, who was identified as Archie Paray, shot a mall official before rushing to the second floor of the complex, where he was holding dozens of mostly employees in an office. The report said "more or less 50 staffs" were being held hostage, but it did not provide other details.

The suspect was complaining of "unequal treatment,'' the police report said.

Shoppers and vendors stand outside Virra Mall where gunshots were fired in San Juan City, Metro Manila.

The shopping complex, popular for its restaurants, shops, bars and a bazaar, lies near an upscale residential enclave, a golf club and the police and military headquarters in the bustling metropolis of more than 12 million people, where law and order have long been a concern.

Shoppers try to see what's happening inside Greenhills shopping centre during a reported hostage situation.

Police evacuated the V-Mall in San Juan after receiving reports of gunshots in the area.

Police evacuated the V-Mall in San Juan after receiving reports of gunshots in the area.