Armed man holds dozens hostage in Guatemala

A man believed to be armed with an explosive device took dozens of people hostage inside a building in Guatemala City last night…

A man believed to be armed with an explosive device took dozens of people hostage inside a building in Guatemala City last night, police said.

The hostage-taker shot and wounded a security guard in the building where he held a group of around 40 employees working the late shift at a call center on the fifth floor, the Emisoras Unidas radio station said.

He threatened to set off a bomb he claimed he was carrying, the station said.

The assailant had a "sentimental" problem, a police official said.

Two fire trucks and six ambulances waited outside a police cordon thrown up around the modern, glass building as dozens of residents looked on.