Investigation open, no injuries… What we know about the hostage-taking in a restaurant in Issy-les-Moulineaux

It was just before 1 p.m. this Saturday, November 16, that a man armed with a knife took refuge in his parents’ pizzeria, in Issy-les-Moulineaux (Hauts-de-Seine), located a few meters from the Paris ring road, southwest of the capital. He also held people hostage, who were released around 4 p.m., according to a police source at AFP, specifying that the detainee had been arrested.

• 2 Four employees retained

A little earlier, at the start of the intervention by the police, the Paris fire brigade (BSPP) had indicated to AFP that the entrenched man “detains a few employees”. This was confirmed by a police source, still at AFP, first mentioning “three or four employees”, as well as the fact that there was neither “customer nor public”. In the end, it was four people employed by the restaurant who were retained. The intervention and arrest of the man took place without incident, there were no injuries.

“He will be subject to a psychiatric examination”

• 3 “Addict profile”

  On site, a mediator from the BRI (Research and Intervention Brigade, an elite unit of the Paris police) had been “hired, due to the person concerned’s desire to commit suicide”. The role of mediators is to enter into negotiations with the madmen. It was a man “with a drug addiction 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 the threat of suicide”.

• 4 Police custody and open investigation

  The man was taken into custody in the premises of the Hauts-de-Seine judicial police. The Nanterre public prosecutor’s office confirmed that it had opened an investigation into kidnapping and sequestration. “He will be subject to a psychiatric examination” to see if police custody is compatible with his condition, he said. The man, aged around 35-40 years old according to a source close to the case, is also not known to the courts.

• 5 Important device deployed

  A major device had been deployed by the police. On their arrival, the police had installed tape to block access to a large perimeter. And had asked the many curious residents of neighboring buildings to move away from their windows. In front of the restaurant with its bright red storefront and lowered curtain, like other neighboring restaurants also closed, AFP journalists on site saw around twenty police officers with orange armbands on their arms. In the street, many others were deployed, some helmeted and armed, as well as numerous police cars and fire trucks.

  “Intervention in progress, let the security and emergency forces work,” wrote the police headquarters on course “. Ultimately, the security perimeter was lifted around 4:40 p.m.