A hostage taking is underway at Arles prison (Bouches-du-Rhône) where an inmate is holding 4 nurses and a prison guard hostage with a bladed weapon.
Five people were held hostage on Friday in Arles prison (Bouches-du-Rhône), police and prison sources told AFP, confirming information from Provence.
An inmate with a homemade pick restrains four nursing staff and a prison guard, said the prison source, adding that the man had a “psychiatric profile”.
RAID deployed on site
The man does not present “a terrorist profile”, according to a prison source. The hostage taking began around 11:15 a.m. in the health unit of the Arles central house, said a prison source.
“The situation remains calm,” a source close to the matter told AFP.
The 37-year-old man was incarcerated for rape at gunpoint. He says he wants to “change prison centers”, according to the source close to the matter. Several intervention forces, including the Raid, were deployed on site.
(More information to follow)
