A man took fifteen passengers hostage on a train traveling in western Switzerland on the evening of Thursday February 8. was suspect “Mortally Wounded” During the police raid and the people he was holding were released unharmed.
Hostage a “Asking for asylum” An Iranian aged 32 who was armed with an ax and a knife and who spoke Persian and English, Vaud cantonal police spokesman Jean-Christophe Soterel said during a briefing. “At this stage of the investigation, the author’s motivation is unknown”The authorities further suggested.
Neither police nor prosecutors would comment at a news conference when asked if the war between Israel and Hamas may have played a role in the attack.
The spokesman stressed the fact that the identity of the hostage-taker was still conditional, while all necessary investigations were carried out.
If confirmed, the author’s identity should be grist to the mill of the UDC, the first party in Switzerland, which constantly campaigns to condemn crimes and crimes committed by foreigners and demands a tougher policy towards asylum seekers.
A madman armed with an axe
The hostage-taker was shot dead by a police officer as he lunged at him with an axe, an intervention group that managed to board the stationary train managed to interpose itself between the attacker and the hostages. There were a total of fifteen, fourteen passengers and the train driver. The hostage situation began around 6:35 pm on Thursday and ended around 10:30 pm.
The alleged perpetrator first stopped the train driver at Essert-sous-Champvent station – half a dozen kilometers from Yverdon by Lake Neuchâtel – to leave his post and join other passengers.
Police were later alerted and negotiations with the hostage-taker took place partly through WhatsApp messaging and through an interpreter who spoke Iran’s majority language, Farsi.
About sixty police officers gathered
The authorities finally decided to attack and the police swung into action around 10:15 pm. A video clip circulated by police on social networks to keep the hostage-taker away from his victims, Mr Sauterell explained.
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The duty prosecutor of the Waud cantonment and the public prosecutor immediately went to the spot and registered a case and started investigation. A total of sixty police officers were recruited. Intervention groups from the city of Canton and Lausanne were supported by snipers from the Geneva Cantonal Police.
Hostages, especially of this magnitude, are extremely rare in Switzerland. The last ones to hit the headlines have villainous motivations.
Thus in January 2022, thugs took a couple and two company employees hostage to gain access to the vaults where the precious metals were stored, but they eventually escaped without making their loot. In November 2021, the director of a watch company was taken hostage in his home along with his family members. After stealing gold from his company, the six hostages fled to neighboring France.
