There’s no excuse for taking hostages, so why must we negotiate with hostage takers?
“At past 9pm on Monday night, June 23, security guard Charliemaine Aton, 35, took as hostage his employer, Atty. Solomon Condonuevo, 67, at the latter’s office at the Optima Building along N. Domingo Street in San Juan City,” reports dzMM correspondent Dennis Datu on ABS-CBNnews.com.
Aton was said to have resorted to hostage-taking after a heated argument with his Condonuevo because of a missing key.
The report said that Aton’s negotiations with the police continued until around 7:35am on Tuesday, June 24. That was when police heard a gunshot from inside the building.
The report noted: “The SWAT team entered the building, and found the victim shot in the head. The suspect shot himself before they were able to reach him.”
Aton was reportedly was “having personal problems prior to the incident.”
Condonuevo was brought to San Juan Medical Center for treatment, but he later died that same morning. One member from the SWAT team was also injured during the encounter.
The authorities believe that Aton “was mentally unstable because he was asking to speak with US President Barack Obama and President Noynoy Aquino.”
Screengrab of photo by dzMM correspondent Dennis Datu, as shared to the public via his Twitter page
