Hostage crisis near Paris resolved after police detain knife-wielding man

A hostage crisis near Paris has been resolved after the police detained a knife-wielding man whotook four staff hostage at his parents' restaurant.

A report by the news agency AFP late Saturday (Nov 16) said that the four employees were freed and no one was hurt during the operationat the pizzeria located in the town of Issy-les-Moulineaux. "The operation is over," a police source told AFP.

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Man locked himself inside the restaurant

The man locked himself inside the restaurant just before 1 pm local time. The hostages were freed at around 4 pm.AFP reported that a large number of police personnel were at the time along with police cars and fire engines.

The police had set upa security perimeter around the venue. Several neighbouring restaurants were closed.

Representatives of the Search and Intervention Brigade (BRI), an elite Paris police unit, were deployed to the scene. A mediator was brought in and negotiations were held before the police intervened.

'The man was a drug addict'

Speaking to AFP, a source close to the case said that the man was a drug addict. Meanwhile, the aforementioned police source said that the man had already committed similar acts at his home in 2022 and threatened to die by suicide.

The man, who is around the age of 35-40, was not previously known to the police.

(With inputs from agencies)