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Man reportedly armed with explosives takes hostage captive in Bunbury
Man arrested after two shots fired in siege in Bunbury
(35 minutes later)
Heavily armed officers have converged on a park in Bunbury, WA, where a man known to police has been holding someone hostage since Thursday evening.
A hostage has been freed and his captor subdued and arrested, ending a 12-hour siege in a park in Bunbury.
An armoured vehicle was also at the scene near the corner of Koombana Drive and Blair Street in Bunbury, about 170km southwest of Perth.
The hostage was allowed to go free just before 7am local time on Friday, ending a terrifying ordeal.
The Seven Network has shown footage of the man kneeling over his hostage on the ground in the park on the shore of the bay, with police nearby.
Minutes later, police moved in on the hostage taker, shooting him with a non-lethal weapon and arresting him. Police said two shots were fired before the 52-year-old who sparked the drama was taken into custody.
The man had a large banner with “Police release Batty Archibald CCC report” written on it. The scene is cordoned off and members of the public were urged to stay away.
Reporters at the scene said the hostage was allowed to walk free, and was bundled into a waiting ambulance.
A police negotiator used a megaphone to communicate with the hostage taker, urging him to consider how his hostage was feeling and to end the situation peacefully. She told the man the media was present, and had seen his banner. Negotiations had been going on through the night, police said.
Police moved in minutes later, ending the drama. Earlier, police said the hostage appeared to have been selected at random.
It is believed the hostage was not known to the man, who was holding him against his will. Police said the hostage-taker was 52.“At this stage, we don’t believe there is any relationship between the pair and we believe that person was identified randomly and, yes, that is a concern,” Commander Alf Fordham told reporters.
Members of the tactical response group were called in to deal with the incident. Armoured vehicles were also at the scene, with police refusing to confirm reports the man might have been armed with explosives.
Fordham said authorities were exercising a “high degree of safety” and all appropriate precautions had been taken.
He said the hostage appeared to be OK.
“I’m sure he’s very cold. But he’s up and walking around and appears to be quite fine.”
Fordham said the situation was contained to the park, and warned Bunbury residents to stay away as traffic around the scene would be disrupted.
“Our intention from the outset has been to resolve it safely for all parties involved.”
Police sent a robot closer to the hostage taker, but would not confirm media reports that the man might be armed with explosives or a gas cylinder.
