LAHORE: A man shot a vendor dead following an exchange of harsh words with him and later took his own children hostage in a bid to escape, that was thwarted by police in Mughalpura on Sunday.

According to police, Umer Daraz, a fruit and vegetable vendor, had an altercation with a customer, Shahid, over the prices.

The customer got enraged and pulled out a gun, shot the vendor dead on the spot and fled away.

Mughalpura police arriving at the scene, shifted the body to the morgue for an autopsy and registered the case.

The police later raided the house of the suspect who was hiding with his children in the basement.

On seeing the police, the suspect pulled out his gun again and took his own children hostage, threatening to kill them if he was not allowed to escape, the police said.

A heavy police contingent was called to the scene that managed to neutralise the suspect after rescuing the children who were taken hostage by their own father.