Police on Saturday arrested an armed man who killed one and took 25 members of his own family hostage in Rawalpindi's Morgah Officer Colony.

According to police, 35-year-old Abdul Rahim had taken his family hostage at gunpoint late last night due to an as yet unconfirmed reason. He also shot dead his wife's uncle, 50-year-old Akbar Jan, when the latter returned from fajr prayers on Saturday morning, police added.

According to police, Rahim had tried to commit suicide by jumping off his house's roof on Friday night, but had been saved and handed over to his uncle by rescue and security officials.

"When the situation occurred, we contacted his uncles and other male members of the family, who suggested that Rahim is mentally unstable and often does these things. They said that they wanted to resolve the matter themselves," DSP Cantt Raja Taifoor Khan told media.

Though earlier reports had suggested that the suspect was of unstable mind, police later discovered that Rahim he was also suffering from an unspecified addiction.

Police said that they refrained from conducting the operation earlier as there were young children present in the house where the family was being kept hostage.

"His uncles went to speak to him. Rahim — who had said that he would not hurt them — opened fire," the DSP said.

"We then decided to take matters in our own hands after that and started an operation to free the family and take Rahim into custody," Khan said, adding that the police first threw two tear gas shells into the house and then stormed it to rescue the family.

As police stormed the house, Rahim opened fire, but was injured as police retaliated.

"Other members of the family are safe, although one elderly woman had lost consciousness because of the tear gas. She has been shifted to District Headquarters Hospital," the DSP said. The elderly woman was Rahim's 90-year-old grandmother, who had already been on a ventilator.

Khan told the media that two people, including a police officer, were injured by Rahim, but both were in stable condition and are being treated at the District Headquarters Hospital.