How to end a hostage crisis without killing people - Vive la France again!!

[malaise]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/20/toulouse-bank-hostages-freed-police-raid
<snip>
A gunman claiming links to al-Qaida was arrested after holding employees of a bank in southern France hostage for almost seven hours on Wednesday.

Armed police stormed the building as the man, who was reported to have psychological problems, was setting fire to the office.

The assailant released two women hostages in the afternoon. Two male hostages, including the bank manager, were rescued unharmed. The gunman was shot in the leg in the raid by an elite team of French police. His condition was not thought to be serious.

Relatives of the hostage-taker said he was known to social services and had been "in a rage". He was said to have been under treatment for schizophrenia but had stopped taking his medication.

[TheWraith]

1. Just to be clear, getting shot in the leg can VERY easily be fatal.

Unlike what Hollywood has taught people, there's no really "safe" place for a person to be shot. The leg has a lot of major arteries in it, and if a bullet hits one of those, the person will be dead faster than if they got shot through the lung.