Hostage taking in progress on the outskirts of Paris: a man armed with a knife, “drug addict” and “suicidal”, took refuge on Saturday in his parents’ pizzeria in Issy-les-Moulineaux, with several employees. Follow the situation live.
The main information to remember:
- The son of the owner of a restaurant in Issy-les-Moulineaux holds “a few employees” hostage
- The man is known to the police
- He threatens the hostages with a bladed weapon
- The BIS is on site with a negotiator
“Three or four employees” held hostage
This man “with a drug addict profile” according to a source close to the case, and who according to a police source had already “committed similar acts” at his home in 2022 “with threat” of suicide”, holds “three or four” in the restaurant employees” but neither “clientele nor public”. He locked himself in the pizzeria located a few meters from the Paris ring road, southwest of the capital, just before 1 p.m., this source also indicates. The man, aged ‘approximately 35-40 years old according to a source close to the case, is also not known to the courts.
“He has a drug problem I think”
“I see him every evening in passing, he’s not well. He has a drug problem I think,” says Anthony, a 23-year-old student, who prefers not to give his last name. “I saw the police arriving earlier, it’s impressive… I’ve already been to the restaurant, there was no problem,” adds Monique Teichet, retired and resident of the neighborhood.
According to AFP journalists on site, the iron curtain of the pizzeria with its bright red storefront is down. Several nearby restaurants are also closed.
The BIS on site
An important police force surrounds the restaurant, the pizzeria “L’Olivier” located at 8 rue Ernest Renan. “Intervention in progress, let the security and emergency forces work,” wrote the police headquarters on “.
On AFPTV images, we can see numerous police vehicles and security forces, helmeted and armed, blocking the streets and establishing a security perimeter in the neighborhood. The BRI, research and intervention brigade, arrived on site. A mediator from the BRI (Research and Intervention Brigade, an elite unit of the Paris police) is “engaged, due to the person concerned’s desire to commit suicide”.
