A suspect in a hostage taking situation raises his arms in the air outside the post offices in Colombes. Image: Reuters/Philippe Wojazer
Police officials in Paris arrested an armed man for taking two hostages at a Paris post office, leading to a hostage like situation and arousing security alerts. Two people were taken hostage by this man on Friday, at a post office in the suburbs of Paris.
The post office was soon surrounded by police officials and helicopters were sent to provide aerial support. The guman was said to be heavily armed and possessed grenades and Kalashnikovs.
However, by 2:30, the man himself surrendered before the police and the “shocked” hostages were freed. Neither the armed man nor the hostages were injured in this entire episode. The police arrested the man and took him under their custody, immediately after he surrendered. The man entered the building before 1pm and within an hour and a half, he submitted himself to the cops.
“There was no assault, the man gave himself up,” a police source told the AFP News Agency.
France’s The Local reported that A police officer told the Libération newspaper that the hostage taker was “a customer who didn’t appear to be all there in the head, talking about romantic disappointment”.
Though initially it was being assumed as a terror attack, the police later confirmed that it wasn’t one, and that the man had led to the situation before handling himself to the police.
If believe the BFM TV, the man was known to the security services and contacted the police himself.
France recently witnessed a terror attack and hostage-like situations, and the country remains on a high alert.
Tags: France Hostage crisis Paris post office hostage-taking
