An armed man was holding dozens of people hostage on a public bus Tuesday in Rio de Janeiro and threatening to set the vehicle on fire, Brazilian police said. The Federal Highway Police said negotiations were underway with the man who has been holding 37 people hostage since about 5:30 a.m. on a busy bridge linking the suburb of Sao Gonçalo to downtown Rio de Janeiro. At least six hostages have been released so far and police said they told authorities the man had spilled gasoline in the bus and threatened to set it on fire. Officials said the man has identified himself as a policeman but this has not been confirmed.

Rodolfo Montoya, of Huntington Beach, California, was allegedly plotting to murder his co-workers and Marriott hotel guests with his cache of high-powered firearms - including two assault rifles, a pump-action shotgun and several pistols - following an undisclosed dispute with his HR department. But his plan was foiled when the 37-year-old cook let slip his deadly intentions to a colleague who informed their manager. The manager then called the Long Beach Police Department who raided Montoya's home and seized the stockpile of weapons. Photographs released by authorities shows a haul of thousands of rounds of ammunition, shotgun cartridges and an array of handguns and rifles. 👮🏻‍♂️