Police kill man who held girl hostage in Shanghai KFC
Posted: 07 June 2007 0420 hrs

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BEIJING - Police shot dead a knife-wielding man who had taken a four-year-old girl hostage in a Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) outlet in Shanghai on Wednesday, state media reported.

The man, believed to be in his 40s, seized the girl after her mother briefly left her in the fast-food restaurant's play area while she went to the counter to buy food.

Police shot him more than six hours later when he tried to injure the girl with a knife, the Xinhua news agency said, adding that the man's mood had worsened during long negotiations.

The restaurant in the city's Putuo district was evacuated and 100 police officers were sent to the area, closing off nearby streets.

The girl was unharmed in the rescue operation and was reunited with her mother.

No details were given of the man's motives or whether he had issued any demands.

- AFP /ls