Armed man takes dozens of people hostage in Guatemala

A man believed to be armed with an explosive device took dozens of people hostage inside a building in Guatemala City on Monday, 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 29-year-old assailant, had a "sentimental" problem related to his ex-wife, a police official said. "It's very worrying particularly for my mother who is terrified", said Marco Ayala, whose brother Luis was being held hostage.

Fire trucks and ambulances waited outside a police cordon thrown up around the modern, glass building as dozens of residents from nearby looked on. Police delivered boxes of pizzas and bottles of water to the building.