Gunman in custody after taking hostages in French post office
January 16, 2015 - 9:53 am
A man with a handgun entered a post office outside of Paris early Friday afternoon before reportedly surrendering and releasing his hostages unharmed a short time later.
The incident in Colombes, a community about 10 kilometers northwest of the French capital, began around 12:45 p.m. (6:45 a.m. ET) and was over about two hours later.
The gunman in the incident might be mentally unstable, according to police in Colombes.
Police added that they don’t know yet if the incident is related to terrorism. This is a hot topic in France after last week’s deadly attacks. A Western intelligence source saying there could be as many as 20 terrorist sleeper cells of between 120 and 180 people ready to strike in France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.
The gunman eventually surrendered and the hostages emerged with no injuries, according to France Bleu, which is part the country’s public broadcasting group.