Axe-wielding man shot dead after taking hostages on Swiss train – BBC News

By Imogen Foulkes & Ian Casey BBC News, Geneva and London1 hour agoImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Police tried to communicate with the hostage-taker for several hoursPolice in Switzerland have shot dead a man armed with an axe and a knife who took 15 passengers hostage on a train on Thursday night.The man, reportedly a 32-year-old asylum seeker from Iran, boarded a local train near Yverdon. He compelled the driver to stop the train and join passengers in the carriage. Officers stormed the train and fatally wounded the man after he attacked them, police reports say. The hostages were all released unharmed.According to local media, the authorities were alerted by passengers on the train and more than 60 officers were present. Police, including a special unit from Geneva, surrounded the train and spent several hours attempting to communicate with the man in English and in Farsi, without success. Late at night, when they noticed the hostage-taker moving away from the passengers, they stormed the train using stun grenades. According to police reports, the man attacked the police, leading them to use their firearms to protect the hostages and themselves, resulting in the death of the hostage taker.Police say the motive for the hostage-taking is unclear. One passenger on the train said the perpetrator appeared “very stressed”. Local reports say hostages and their families are being supported by the Swiss health service’s psychological department.Little is known about the man, except that he was originally from Iran and had been assigned to an asylum seeker center in Neuchatel.Hostage situations are uncommon in Switzerland, but have occurred at banks and businesses in the past. In January 2022, employees at a watch-making firm were taken hostage and forced to open a vault.

Author: OpenAI