A hostage situation in the Brazilian capital, Brasilia --- played out on live TV.

The man had grabbed his hostage outside city government headquarters, holding her at knife point.

Police moved into position, while negotiators tried to talk the man into giving himself up.

But negotiations quickly came to an end.

Police opened fire with rubber bullets, bringing the man down as the hostage escaped.

The man, whose motives were unclear, was taken into custody.

The woman was taken to the hospital but was believed to be unharmed.