Hostage-taker walked from Cavite to Quezon City

Lawmen foiled an attempt of a jobless young man to harm a 10-year-old boy he took hostage early morning Saturday after reportedly walking from Cavite to Quezon City to visit his mother.

The hostage drama, which lasted more than three hours, ended after police and the suspect’s mother tried to calm Reimir Gringo Parparan, 24, who held the boy in his arms with an ice pick in hand.

Police eventually arrested Parparan at around 7 a.m. Saturday after his mother Eufrecina begged him to surrender.

Parparan is now facing charges of serious illegal detention, according to Quezon City Police District director Chief Supt. Mario dela Vega.

The hostage happened in the middle of a heavy downpour inside a building on E. Rodriguez Ave. in Barangay Kristong Hari where the boy’s family lived.

Galas police station commander Supt. Norberto Babagay, who headed the negotiations, said the boy, identified as Mark Jason Pineda, had two small nicks on the neck resulting from the ice pick’s pressure held next to him for more than three hours.

The police official added that Parparan walked from Bacoor, Cavite, to E. Rodriguez Ave. to see his mother Eufrecina who lived in the same building. He arrived at 11 p.m. Friday.

The suspect came to Manila from Negros Occidental in February to look for a job. Julie M. Aurelio