A 26-year-old man of Moroccan nationality took at least two people hostage in a ground-floor office in central Paris last night. The hostage standoff lasted for four hours before police moved in and arrested the armed suspect. The two hostages were freed, and were “safe and sound”, according to France’s interior minister Gerard Collomb.
According to a police union official, Yves Lefebvre, the hostage-taker reportedly asked to speak to the Iranian ambassador. However, a motive for the demand was not established.
While the hostage situation was taking place, Spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, Bahram Ghasemi, said the Iranian Embassy in Paris stood ready to help “considering the importance of people’s lives and the human aspects of the issue.”
The suspect is being investigated on multiple counts, including kidnapping and sequestration, attempted homicide and violence with a weapon, a judicial official said.
MS