Attacker and woman crucifix
© Rouelle Umali/Xinhua/ZUMAPRESS.comWoman holds crucifix up to teeth-baring kidnapper in Quezon City, Philippines early Saturday morning
Reimer Parparan, 24, held the ice pick to Mark Jason Pineda's throat. A woman, believed to be the boy's mother, bought time until the Quezon City, Philippines, police could talk the man into surrendering.

Wielding an ice pick, a crazed young man held a nine-year-old hostage in an event that easily could have turned tragic in Quezon City, Philippines early Saturday morning.

Reimer Parparan, 24, held the ice pick to Mark Jason Pineda's throat as a woman calmly approached the scene holding a crucifix to the aggressor. The woman is believed to be Mark's mother, reports the Daily Mail.

The Quezon City Police Department exercised diplomacy to recover the child. The hostage negotiator chose to wait and wear down the assailant rather than enact a tactical maneuver.

The suspect "appeared to be suffering from a mental breakdown and has no clear demands for his brash actions," reports the Quezon City Police District.

The assailant requested drinking water, which allowed police an opportunity to negotiate. The standoff ended around 7:30 a.m., about eight and a half hours after Parparan initially kidnapped the child.

Mark had two small cuts on his neck from the ice pick but was otherwise unscathed.

"Rational diplomatic approach was the weapon of choice," according to QCPD chief, Gen. Dela Vega.