EPAPolice at the train in Essert-sous-Champvent station
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 05:26
On a regional train in Switzerland last night, a man threatened fourteen passengers and the driver and held them hostage for almost four hours. He was armed with a knife and an axe. He was shot dead by the police.
The perpetrator was a 32-year-old asylum seeker with Iranian nationality. The motive for his crime is still unclear.
Ax attack
Police responded at 10:15 p.m. after passengers raised the alarm from the train between Baulmes and Yverdon-les-Bains in French-speaking western Switzerland. More than sixty police officers surrounded the train and snipers were deployed.
An interpreter was called in to negotiate with the hostage taker via WhatsApp. When the man briefly moved away from the hostages, the police took the opportunity to intervene and distract the hostage taker with explosives. The man attacked a police officer with the axe, after which the officer shot him. He died on the spot.
The passengers and driver were able to leave the train unharmed, according to a prosecutor.
2024-02-09 04:26:40
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