Man suspected of holding grenade, barricading himself in, writes challenging status on Facebook

Hundreds of police and snipers blocked Hong Bang Street, surrounded and arrested the man who was holding out.

(Baonghean.vn) - Since noon on October 1, Hong Bang Street, Vinh City has been blocked off, police are surrounding and arresting a man believed to be armed and barricading himself in his house.

As of 3 p.m. on October 1, authorities were still blocking off a section of Hong Bang Street (Vinh City). About 100 soldiers, including criminal police, mobile police, and traffic police, were still surrounding the two-story house.

Police block Hong Bang street in the rain. Photo: Pham Bang

Despite the heavy rain, hundreds of curious people gathered on the street below to watch the incident unfold. A resident living near the house said the man barricaded himself in the house was named Le Ngoc Son. He had just been released from prison.

Son is believed to be barricading himself on the second floor of the house. Inside the house, police suspect there is another person whose identity has not been determined.

“This house used to belong to his parents. Recently, his parents moved to build another house, leaving this house for Son and his sister to live in,” said the resident, adding that although they had been following the incident for many hours, most of the residents did not know why the police surrounded the house.

Inside the house under siege. Photo: TH

Speaking to Nghe An Newspaper reporter, Mr. Nguyen Tam Ky - Chairman of Le Mao Ward People's Committee, said that up to now, the authorities have not had specific information about the incident. "I only know that Son is a local bad element. He just got out of prison. He was involved in a case of intentional property destruction. When the police arrived, he resisted," Mr. Ky said, adding that Son is about 33 years old.

Curious people gathered to watch the developments. Photo: Pham Bang

A source said that Son was involved in a previous case of property destruction. On the morning of October 1, when the police came to his house to investigate, Son resisted and then barricaded himself in the house. "At that time, Son threw a grenade outside but luckily it did not explode," said another witness.

Authorities determined that Son had many other grenades in the house.

As of 3:15 p.m., according to the reporter, the police force is still being reinforced to the scene, including ambulances. A police team has now reached the first floor of the house. Although they have occupied the first floor, because it is separated by a wooden door, the police are still trying to persuade Son.

Authorities have asked businesses near the house to stop operating to ensure safety.

The man's father was previously invited by the police to persuade him but to no avail.

As of 4 p.m., negotiations to get the subject to cooperate had not yet yielded results. The subject was still barricaded in the house. Authorities had yet to take strong action to capture the subject.

At rush hour, many people cannot return home because the roads are still blocked. Photo: Pham Bang

Several schools around the besieged house have been closed. According to the reporter, Colonel Nguyen Manh Hung - Deputy Director of the provincial police is currently at the scene to direct the incident.

About 200 meters away from the house, several snipers had been positioned on the roof of an apartment building for several hours. The siege of the house began around 10 a.m. on October 1.

Status line of Facebook account believed to be Son's while the police were surrounding outside.

While the police were surrounding him, a Facebook account believed to belong to Le Ngoc Son was still updating information. Most recently, this account posted a challenging status. After this status, many friends commented, advising this person to surrender.

Many curious students stopped to watch. Photo: Pham Bang.

At 5 p.m., the suspect was still holed up in his house. The authorities continued to persuade him to surrender. The authorities are still blocking off the scene on Hong Bang Street, about 100 meters from the house where the suspect is holed up.

At this time, students were out of school and people were going home from work, causing local traffic jams. Although it was almost dark, curious people were still gathering at both ends of the street to watch the incident.

The subject has now locked his Facebook page. According to a source, the subject shows signs of being high on drugs.

Authorities have yet to make an official statement on the incident.

Pham Bang - Tien Hung