Hostage situation reported in N. France, several suffer 'gunshot wounds''
Source: rt.com
A hostage situation has been reported in the northern French town of Roubaix near the Belgian border. Several people have sustained gunshot wounds, Reuters reported citing medical sources.
The area has been cordoned off by police, RTL reported, adding that gunfire can be heard.
La Voix du Nord newspaper says the hostage takers are armed with Kalashnikovs. Witnesses told the daily that the incident occurred at around 7:00pm local time (18:00 GMT) at a service station. According to other reports, this may be inside a residential building.
“There were three guys with Kalasnikovs, they shot at police and police shot at them,” a local resident named Salah told RT. “There are a lot of police on the streets,” he added.
Une opération de police serait en cours à #Roubaix. A confirmer (photo @mimpwd ) pic.twitter.com/my4vA9HUL1
— Breaking3zero (@Breaking3zero) November 24, 2015
"An operation is underway after hostages were taken. Gunshots were fired and the neighborhood has been cordoned off," a police source told Reuters. "A bank director and his family may have been taken as hostages."
According to AFP, the incident may have been an attempted robbery.
"This is apparently not a terrorist attack, it's apparently a robbery," a police source told Reuters.
#Roubaix#Reuters confirme prise d'otages. Des blessés et enfants seraient parmi les otages pic.twitter.com/mDLqlvZMoD
— Breaking3zero (@Breaking3zero) November 24, 2015
Later it emerged that the two gunmen had wanted to rob a residential building in which the head of a local bank lives, local media reported. When police arrived, the pair first opened fire on them and then locked themselves away with hostages behind a door.
Opération de police à Roubaix, une prise d'otages en cours https://t.co/8mOGboTWqdpic.twitter.com/8QNa1QPx6D
— La Voix du Nord web (@lavoixdunord) November 24, 2015
Two hours after the incident was first acknowledged, reports on social media suggested that one of attackers had been arrested, while two hostages still remained inside and two others managed to escape. However, this has not been confirmed by police.
La prise d'otage est toujours en cours à #Roubaix, nous ne connaissons pas la cause actuellement @VDNLillepic.twitter.com/59bGzMHJio
— Morel Sébastien (@sebi140493) November 24, 2015
Earlier in the month Paris witnessed several terror attacks. Over 130 people were killed and 350 wounded. France imposed a state of emergency for three months.
Source: rt.com
