staff taken hostage by an armed detainee

Since the end of the morning, Friday January 3, in the central house of Arles, an inmate had been holding several members of staff, under threat of a homemade bladed weapon, according to information from Provence.

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The hostage-taking is over, the detainee has surrendered

Shortly before 4 p.m., the detainee surrendered and the hostage-taking ended without causing any injuries, we learned BFM Marseille Provence at the police headquarters. The police prefect and the public prosecutor, as well as the mayor of Arles, will speak shortly.

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According to The Parisianthe inmate named Irwing S. was holding four medical staff from the Arles hospital, as well as a prison officer. Shortly before 3 p.m., a doctor was released. The kidnapper, aged 37, held these people under the threat of “ craft picks “. The Raid, a specialized intervention unit of the national police, was activated, and police personnel positioned themselves around the prison, awaiting the intervention of regional intervention and security teams ( Eris).

For his part, the Minister of Justice, Gérald Darmanin, initially indicated on the social network “5 people are being held hostage at the Arles central prison, including 4 healthcare workers and a prison officer. We have mobilized all means to deal with it. I follow the evolution of the situation in real time,” before announcing that the hostage taker “was arrested immediately », thanking the prison administration teams and the RAID police officers.

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A worrying profile

The man is incarcerated for acts of rape at gunpoint, according to a judicial source. Released in 2031, the inmate is described as “ very impulsive » et « violent “. He would have already had problems of violence in detention » at Saint-Maur prison (Indre), according to a prison source. It does not present “ not a terrorist profile “. The hostage-taking took place after the thirty-year-old became dissatisfied following the refusal of his transfer to another detention center.