Everyone is thankful that the hostage crisis at Virra Mall, Greenhills ended peacefully with all hostages released unharmed. What is quite disturbing is that the hostage taker, Archie Paray, was allowed by the police to give a statement to the media before he was taken away.
#Greenhills Hostage-taker gives media conference outside mall. Apologies to hostages. Said he complained of work-related issues and alleges management didn’t do anything to help him. Some security staff & mall workers cheer during his speech. pic.twitter.com/QPtmFuuQsn
— Howard Johnson ?? (@Howardrjohnson) March 2, 2020
Al Jazeera also earlier reported that mall staff “handed out a few radios to reporters to allow them to ask the gunman questions.”
Already, the police are being criticised for failing to control the throngs of kibitzers taking photos and videos as the situation played out and sharing these over social media.
Why are media given such privileges during a potentially deadly hostage situation? Situation management and custody over a crime suspect is a serious police matter and the police should be implementing every measure to control the scene. Media people talking to a suspect more so in the midst of a volatile situation is an unacceptable breach of police situation management.
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