Police are have evacuated 18 people from a shopping mall near Paris this morning following a standoff with a group of hostage-taking gunmen.
Two or three gunmen stormed the Primark store in Villeneuve-la-Garenne this morning in an attempt to rob it, police said.
While the hostages have now been freed, a manhunt is underway to catch the gunmen after they fled the scene.
‘Around 6:30 am, two or three armed criminals went into the Primark store for what we think was initially an attempt at armed robbery,’ a police source said.
The Primark store is in the Qwartz shopping centre, which was shut down this morning, along with all roads leading towards it.
A staff member managed to raise the alarm by text messaging her boyfriend telling him she was being held hostage.
Another police source confirmed officers from Paris’ anti-terrorist squad were on the scene. There was thought to be a mixture of shop workers, cleaners and other staff inside the store.
There are no reports of any injuries, said the police source.
A supply worker told Le Parisien he saw people fleeing the mall in a panic.
He said: ‘Everyone was running and screaming “they are armed, they are armed, we must get out”.’
Officers at the scene said they were initially treating the incident as a ‘suspected armed robbery attempt’ but terrorism could not be ruled out.
The Paris region remains on high alert for terrorist activity after Islamic extremists attacked a kosher supermarket and satirical newspaper offices in January, leaving 20 people dead including the attackers.
Police are have evacuated 18 people from a shopping mall near Paris this morning following a standoff with a group of hostage-taking gunmen.
Two or three gunmen stormed the Primark store in Villeneuve-la-Garenne this morning in an attempt to rob it, police said.
While the hostages have now been freed, a manhunt is underway to catch the gunmen after they fled the scene.
‘Around 6:30 am, two or three armed criminals went into the Primark store for what we think was initially an attempt at armed robbery,’ a police source said.
The Primark store is in the Qwartz shopping centre, which was shut down this morning, along with all roads leading towards it.
A staff member managed to raise the alarm by text messaging her boyfriend telling him she was being held hostage.
Another police source confirmed officers from Paris’ anti-terrorist squad were on the scene. There was thought to be a mixture of shop workers, cleaners and other staff inside the store.
There are no reports of any injuries, said the police source.
A supply worker told Le Parisien he saw people fleeing the mall in a panic.
He said: ‘Everyone was running and screaming “they are armed, they are armed, we must get out”.’
Officers at the scene said they were initially treating the incident as a ‘suspected armed robbery attempt’ but terrorism could not be ruled out.
The Paris region remains on high alert for terrorist activity after Islamic extremists attacked a kosher supermarket and satirical newspaper offices in January, leaving 20 people dead including the attackers.