Manila mall gunman to face several criminal charges

Manila, March 3 (SocialNews.XYZ) A fired security guard who took 60 people hostage at a mall in Manila will face multiple criminal charges such as attempted murder, illegal possession of firearms and kidnapping, the Philippines police on Tuesday, a day after the incident.

Archie Paray, 41, a disgruntled employee who sought public attention for allegedly being fired unjustly, had on Monday stormed the mall in Manila's Greenhills shopping district, reports Efe news.

He shot one person, another security guard, and then held around 60 hostages in the building's administration offices for nine hours.

"He is held at our police station and awaiting the prosecutor's investigation procedures," said Jaime Santos, the chief of police in Manila's San Juan district.

The incident was first reported at around 11 a.m. when shots were heard from the complex, and social media footage showed employees and passers-by fleeing the scene.

Paray, who worked as a security guard at the same mall, was armed with a gun and a hand grenade.

After hours of negotiation, the gunman released the hostages and turned himself in to the police, but not before demanding repeatedly to speak to the media via video call and alleging that he and other colleagues had been "unfairly dismissed".

Paray said that he had been fired after going on absence without leave.

After his surrender, Paray, who was not handcuffed, was allowed to address the media in a sort of impromptu press conference, in which he explained his motives before being approached and arrested by the authorities.

During the siege, several of the security guard's former superiors - the mall's security chief and the company that hired him - apologized to him and even offered to resign in a bid to calm the situation down.

Source: IANS