AN UNDERCOVER policewoman ended an hour-long hostage drama in
Guangzhou, China, in three seconds.
She fired four shots and killed a robber, who was holding a
woman hostage, after distracting him with a bottled drink.
Guangzhou Daily reported that the drama started after the
38-year-old man robbed a man near a train station on Tuesday at
about 8pm.
The victim had resisted and the man used a knife to stab him
before fleeing.
Police gave chase, but the man grabbed hold of a female
passer-by near a bus stop and held her hostage in front of an ATM
at about 8.25pm.
He wrapped his left arm around her neck while holding the knife
at her throat.
Police cordoned off the area and hostage negotiators tried to
talk the man out of harming the woman.
The man said he did not want to harm the hostage, but each time
police officers tried to edge closer, he slashed the woman on her
arm and leg.
The atmosphere became more tense after an hour of negotiations.
The man had become more agitated after his requests for a gun and
transportation to Hubei province were refused.
By then, the woman's clothes were soaked in blood.
At 9.25pm, a plainclothes policewoman approached the pair and
offered the man a bottled drink after he complained of being
thirsty, but threw the bottled drink onto the ground near the
man.
The man stepped forward and used his right leg to roll the
bottle closer to him.
He then bent down to pick up the bottle and the policewoman
seized her chance to draw her gun. She ran forward and fired a shot
at the man without hesitation.
The man fell backwards, still holding on to the hostage. The
policewoman then fired another three shots at the man at
point-blank range, killing him.
The hostage was taken to a nearby hospital. She is in stable
condition.
The man was reported to be a thief from Hubei and had been on
the run from police there.
The 1.6m-tall policewoman, known only as Ms Xiu, later told
Guangzhou Daily that while she had been with the police force for
27 years and had received training as a sniper, this was the first
time she had fired a gun at someone.
Force
"We had to use force because we could not guarantee the
hostage's safety," Ms Xiu, who is in her 40s, told the
newspaper.
"My superiors told me to get a gun from the police van and I
loaded it with six rounds and tucked it in my right trouser
pocket.
"When he bent down to pick up the bottle, he left part of his
right chest exposed. I aimed for that area."
She added: "He was still moving after my first shot, so I moved
in and fired another three shots."
"I had only two thoughts in my mind - to ensure the safety of
the hostage and to overcome the man."
After making sure the hostage was all right, Ms Xiu handed in
her weapon and returned to work at a police station.
When asked if she was worried about accidentally hitting the
hostage, she said: "Failure was not an option."
Video captures hostage shooting:
http://multimedia.asiaone.com/Multimedia/News/Story/A1Multimedia20100710-10460.html
