Fox News is reporting that ten hostages have been taken at the Mexican Consulate in Los Angeles.
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Update: (9:40 AM PST)
Area has been shutdown, streets leading into area re-routed by police. No word yet on why the hostages were taken, or by whom.
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Update 2: (9:52 AM PST)
The city of Los Angeles has been put on "Tactical Alert" and S.W.A.T has been disbursed to the scene. There is some video coming in from local news stations and individuals in white collared shirts, presumaly workers, can be seen on the top floor through the windows walking around.
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Update 3: (9:55 AM PST)
Fox News now has a link to the story on their site (tipped by: SlantPoint)
Two different sources said between seven and 10 people were being held by up to three masked men on the fourth floor of the consulate, KTTV reported, without being able to confirm those figures.
One report said a woman had been released by the gunmen.
Another report said the Mexican consul general was outside the building and talking with police.
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Update 4: (1:43 PM PST)
Leave it to the media to sensationalize something. While out to lunch, ABC summed up the story as thus (tipped by: SparseMatrix)
A man demanding media attention took a woman hostage at the Mexican consulate near downtown Los Angeles today and then was shot and wounded by police. The woman was unharmed.
Officers responding to a report of a kidnapping in progress confronted a suspect outside the consulate and shots were fired.
The wounded man was taken to a hospital where he is listed in critical condition.
A videotape recorded by Telemundo showed the black-clad man, his arm around the woman's neck, leave a parking lot exit and back down a sidewalk as police closed in.
The man suddenly collapsed backward to the ground and officers pulled the woman away as others pointed their guns at him. Officers picked up the man and rushed him away.
The police chief says no element of terrorism is believed involved in the incident.
The mayor says only one person was believed involved in the hostage-taking.
I'm happy the woman is alright and hope that fuckhead dies a horrible death of pain and suffering for all the trauma that woman is going to go through in the future. All the fears she'll have and constant wondering as she walks down the street, for the rest of her life.
