GIGN

French nursery hostage drama ends safely

By Matthieu Boisseau
13/12/2010

On Monday 13 December, the prefecture of Doubs announced that an armed man had taken 20 children hostage at a nursery school in the eastern French city of Besancon. A GIPN (National Police Intervention Group) unit was at the scene.

The hostage-taker was armed with two sabres, unstable and aged 17. Fortunately it ended without bloodshed after the kidnapper released the last batch of four children and their teacher who had been taken hostage without anyone being harmed.

An aide to the Besançon mayor declared the hostage-taker was known to suffer from depression. "He has personality problems. We have contacted his doctor," he said. "We have been in constant contact with him since the beginning." The teenager was then taken into custody into the school say the police.