Malaysia: The Nursery Siege ends.

Malaysian Police Sniper Ends Nursery Siege

2:27pm UK, Thursday July 07, 2011

Thirty children and four teachers have been freed unharmed after a man holding them hostage in a nursery in Malaysia was shot in the head by a police sniper.

A policeman carries a child after the end of the siege

The drama started when the unidentified man walked into a school in a two-storey house in Muar, a town in southern Johor state about two hours' drive from Singapore.

Armed with a hammer and a machete, he took a group of three- to five-year-old children and their teacher hostage for the next six hours.

He reportedly locked all the doors before threatening to kill the children unless he was given a gun.

Police then sealed off the premises. A psychiatrist was sent in to talk to the man, and the children were heard singing in an attempt to calm him down, a witness reported.

When it became apparent negotiations were not going to bear fruit, commandos armed with assault rifles fired tear gas into the building before storming it.

The man, who is believed to have a history of mental problems, is now in hospital in a critical condition.

Witnesses said the children were calm and showed no fear as they emerged from the building, singing songs led by their teachers and walking into the waiting arms of their cheering parents who hugged them tightly.

People stand outside after teargas was fired into the school

They were greeted by applause from a crowd of around 1,000 onlookers and nearby residents who had spent hours following the drama.

Many of the children looked tired, having been without food and water during their ordeal.

They have been taken to hospital for check-ups.

The father of one of the children, 34-year-old Tan Teck Hock, said he was overjoyed to be reunited with his son.

"It is such a big relief. My wife and I thank the police for their efforts to protect my little boy."

It is not the first time children at nursery have been targeted in Muar.

In March last year, a man carrying a hammer barged into a school and bludgeoned three six-year-olds who were left with head injuries.

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