TIMELINE: Hostage drama at shopping mall
Published Mar 3, 2020 12:00 am
By Jhon Aldrin Casinas
National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) director Maj. Gen. Debold Sinas narrated in detail on Tuesday what transpired during the hours-long hostage drama at a shopping center in San Juan City on Monday.
Members of the Philippine National Police in civilian clothing arrest hostage taker and former security guard Archie Paray while addressing the media after he agreed to come out and release his hostages he held for 10 hours in Greenhills, San Juan City last March 2. (PHOTO/ ALVIN KASIBAN)
Alchie Paray, a 40-year-old former security guard of Safeguard Security Agency (SASCOR), who Sinas said was terminated after going on an absence without leave, reportedly shot a security officer and held dozens of employees hostage inside the administration office of the shopping center Monday.
Here is the timeline of the hostage drama events as presented by Sinas in a slideshow in a press briefing at San Juan City Hall.
11:14 a.m.: Former security guard Alchie Paray entered the shopping mall through the employees’ entrance.
11:16 a.m.: Security Officer Roland Beleta, on duty at the main lobby of the administration building, approached Paray questioning his presence. Paray shot Beleta with a .45 caliber pistol.
11:19 a.m.: Beleta was rushed to Cardinal Santos Medical Center for treatment, while Paray proceeded to the finance office and held hostage all the personnel inside.
11:22 a.m.: The San Juan Police Station received a phone call from Greenhills Shopping Center regarding the incident. Personnel of San Juan Police Community Precinct 1 led by Lt. Wilfredo Abenoja immediately responded to verify the report and provide police assistance. They were accompanied by the Tactical Motorcycle Riders Unit (TMRU).
11:25 a.m.: San Juan Police chief Col. Jaime Santos arrived at Greenhills Shopping Center. He was accompanied by Police Lt. Col. Rolando Santos, Police Maj. Edgard Escreza, and the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team.
11:29 a.m.: Paray made contact with the radio operator of the mall’s security through a hand-held radio he took from Beleta’s post. He demanded all security guards to make a formation outside the mall along Connecticut Street. Paray threatened to kill the hostages if his demand was not met.
11:45 a.m.: Paray demanded the presence of the media.
12:20 a.m.: Paray demanded the presence of Ferdinand Solina, Salvador Capadocia, and Henry Tuazon at the formation of the security guards outside the mall.
12:55 p.m.: Sinas and his staff arrived at the shopping center and were briefed by the city police chief of the incident, and created a negotiation team headed by Sinas, Eastern Police District (EPD) director Brig. Gen. Johnson Almazan, EPD Deputy Director for Administration Col. Orlando Yebra Jr., the city police chief, and San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora.
1:06 p.m.: Paray went out of the room with his pistol, and placed a chair at the center of the hallway to serve as a barricade leading to the room he occupied.
3:16 p.m.: Paray continuously communicated with Arnel Alfonso, a security marshal, through a radio and repeatedly insisted on his demand for the formation of all security guards of the shopping center as well as for the presence of the media.
3:20 a.m.: Paray demanded the removal of all police officers in front of the lobby of the administration building.
6:10 p.m.: A press conference was conducted where security officials of the shopping center expressed their apologies and resigned from their posts.
The security officials were identified as Fernando Solina, security manager of Greenhills Mall; Salvador Capadocia, assistant security manager of Greenhills Mall; Henry Tuason, area field officer of SASCOR; Israel Villas, security commander of SASCOR; and Oscar Hernandez, general manager of SASCOR.
7:31 p.m.: Zamora and Paray had a conversation through radio and discussed all of his demands before his surrender.
8:09 p.m.: Hostages started to line up inside the admin office.
8:16 p.m.: Paray, with all the hostages, left the admin office and walked out of the employees’ entrance for his voluntary surrender. Afterwards, members of the NCRPO Explosive Ordnance Division, San Juan Police, and the rest of the assault team conducted a clearing operation on the admin office to recover Paray’s grenade.
8:44 p.m.: Operatives from the intelligence units, follow-up team, and covert securities subdue Paray on the ground.
9 p.m.: Paray was arrested by the police. Seized from him were a .45 caliber pistol, two magazines with 16 bullets, and a tactical knife. He was brought to San Juan City Police Station for further investigation and disposition.
The hostage drama at the shopping center lasted almost 10 hours.
Members of the Philippine National Police in civilian clothing arrest hostage taker and former security guard Archie Paray while addressing the media after he agreed to come out and release his hostages he held for 10 hours in Greenhills, San Juan City last March 2. (PHOTO/ ALVIN KASIBAN)
Alchie Paray, a 40-year-old former security guard of Safeguard Security Agency (SASCOR), who Sinas said was terminated after going on an absence without leave, reportedly shot a security officer and held dozens of employees hostage inside the administration office of the shopping center Monday.
Here is the timeline of the hostage drama events as presented by Sinas in a slideshow in a press briefing at San Juan City Hall.
11:14 a.m.: Former security guard Alchie Paray entered the shopping mall through the employees’ entrance.
11:16 a.m.: Security Officer Roland Beleta, on duty at the main lobby of the administration building, approached Paray questioning his presence. Paray shot Beleta with a .45 caliber pistol.
11:19 a.m.: Beleta was rushed to Cardinal Santos Medical Center for treatment, while Paray proceeded to the finance office and held hostage all the personnel inside.
11:22 a.m.: The San Juan Police Station received a phone call from Greenhills Shopping Center regarding the incident. Personnel of San Juan Police Community Precinct 1 led by Lt. Wilfredo Abenoja immediately responded to verify the report and provide police assistance. They were accompanied by the Tactical Motorcycle Riders Unit (TMRU).
11:25 a.m.: San Juan Police chief Col. Jaime Santos arrived at Greenhills Shopping Center. He was accompanied by Police Lt. Col. Rolando Santos, Police Maj. Edgard Escreza, and the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team.
11:29 a.m.: Paray made contact with the radio operator of the mall’s security through a hand-held radio he took from Beleta’s post. He demanded all security guards to make a formation outside the mall along Connecticut Street. Paray threatened to kill the hostages if his demand was not met.
11:45 a.m.: Paray demanded the presence of the media.
12:20 a.m.: Paray demanded the presence of Ferdinand Solina, Salvador Capadocia, and Henry Tuazon at the formation of the security guards outside the mall.
12:55 p.m.: Sinas and his staff arrived at the shopping center and were briefed by the city police chief of the incident, and created a negotiation team headed by Sinas, Eastern Police District (EPD) director Brig. Gen. Johnson Almazan, EPD Deputy Director for Administration Col. Orlando Yebra Jr., the city police chief, and San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora.
1:06 p.m.: Paray went out of the room with his pistol, and placed a chair at the center of the hallway to serve as a barricade leading to the room he occupied.
3:16 p.m.: Paray continuously communicated with Arnel Alfonso, a security marshal, through a radio and repeatedly insisted on his demand for the formation of all security guards of the shopping center as well as for the presence of the media.
3:20 a.m.: Paray demanded the removal of all police officers in front of the lobby of the administration building.
6:10 p.m.: A press conference was conducted where security officials of the shopping center expressed their apologies and resigned from their posts.
The security officials were identified as Fernando Solina, security manager of Greenhills Mall; Salvador Capadocia, assistant security manager of Greenhills Mall; Henry Tuason, area field officer of SASCOR; Israel Villas, security commander of SASCOR; and Oscar Hernandez, general manager of SASCOR.
7:31 p.m.: Zamora and Paray had a conversation through radio and discussed all of his demands before his surrender.
8:09 p.m.: Hostages started to line up inside the admin office.
8:16 p.m.: Paray, with all the hostages, left the admin office and walked out of the employees’ entrance for his voluntary surrender. Afterwards, members of the NCRPO Explosive Ordnance Division, San Juan Police, and the rest of the assault team conducted a clearing operation on the admin office to recover Paray’s grenade.
8:44 p.m.: Operatives from the intelligence units, follow-up team, and covert securities subdue Paray on the ground.
9 p.m.: Paray was arrested by the police. Seized from him were a .45 caliber pistol, two magazines with 16 bullets, and a tactical knife. He was brought to San Juan City Police Station for further investigation and disposition.
The hostage drama at the shopping center lasted almost 10 hours.