Advertisement

Sword-wielding man takes hostage on train

AFP
AFP - [email protected]
Sword-wielding man takes hostage on train

A 25-year-old man armed with a sword held a woman hostage on a train in southwest France for two hours on Wednesday before releasing her unharmed, police said.

Advertisement

The man, apparently motivated by a judicial grievance, initially tried to take hostage a group of passengers on the train bound for the southwestern city of Toulouse from the Atlantic port of La Rochelle.

But 15 passengers on the coach were able to get off when the train stopped at the city of Bordeaux, and the hostage-taker held only the woman in her forties.

According to an official involved in the release and speaking on condition of anonymity, the woman is the wife of a senior security official in the northwestern Normandy region.

The hostage was released after about two hours and the attacker detained by police SWAT units, a top security official said.

The woman appeared relaxed as rescue workers attended to her.

Several high-ranking local officials were dispatched to the scene during the brief incident and a security deployment was visible around the station but access to the platforms were not restricted and train traffic continued.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also