Police in Manila have confirmed that the rogue former police officer who was holding up a bus full of Chinese tourists has been killed after a tense daylong hostage situation.
Rolando Mendoza, a former senior inspector for the Philippine capital’s police force, took over the tour bus and demanded that he be reinstated before he released any of the passengers.
Police have also reported that as of now, six of the fifteen remaining Chinese hostages have been confirmed dead, with one other in critical condition, according to hospital reports compiled by the AP. At least four climbed out the back of the bus during the raid, and others arrived at the hospital without injury.
Mendoza, who communicated his demands through an interview with a radio station and handwritten signs posted on the bus window, was dismissed from his position on the force in 2008 after being charged with robbery and extortion when he falsely accused a Manila hotel chef of drug-related extortion.
The ordeal took place in a seaside area of the city, near the U.S. Embassy, and lasted ten hours. Updates will surely be forthcoming from the tourist-adored port city as police sort through the damage of the raid.
