Three gunmen on the run after 18 hostages taken in Primark
Men were 'brandishing sawn-off shotguns' in what is believed to have been an attempted robbery
Three gunmen are said to be on the run in Paris after taking 18 people hostage at a Primark store, north-west of the French capital.
Special forces are hunting the men, who entered the discount clothing store in Villeneuve-la-Garenne early this morning.
The men were "brandishing sawn-off shotguns" in what is thought to have been a botched robbery attempt, says The Independent. Police were reportedly alerted after one Primark employee texted a friend at 7am to say they were being held by armed men.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Around 6.30am (5.30am BST), two or three armed criminals went into the Primark store for what we think was initially an attempt at armed robbery," said one police source.
All the hostages were subsequently released, but the three men are yet to be caught.
One witness told Le Parisien newspaper that he saw people fleeing in a panic. "Everyone was running and screaming, 'They are armed, they are armed. We must get out'," he said.
A spokesman for Primark confirmed that there had been an "incident" at its Qwartz shopping centre store in northern Paris.
"Police are in attendance and media inquiries are being referred to them," he said. "We will do all we can to support our staff and their families. We hope for a speedy and safe end to this incident."
The region remains on "high alert" after Islamic extremists attacked the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in January, killing 12 people, notes The Times.
"There was no suggestion of any political motive for today's robbery. Nor, however, was it clear why the gunmen would have been trying to rob a clothes store early on a Monday morning," said the newspaper.
Le Parisien suggests that the store's takings are normally picked up by a security guard every day of the week, except for a Sunday, meaning there would have been cash left in the store this morning from a busy weekend of shopping. Some reports suggest that the gunmen knew this and that one of them may even have been a Primark employee.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Italian senate passes law allowing anti-abortion activists into clinics
Under The Radar Giorgia Meloni scores a political 'victory' but will it make much difference in practice?
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Magazine interactive crossword - May 3, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - May 3, 2024
By The Week US Published
-
Magazine solutions - May 3, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - May 3, 2024
By The Week US Published
-
Sydney mall attacker may have targeted women
Speed Read Police commissioner says gender of victims is 'area of interest' to investigators
By Julia O'Driscoll, The Week UK Published
-
Why are kidnappings in Nigeria on the rise again?
Today's Big Question Hundreds of children and displaced people are missing as kidnap-for-ransom 'bandits' return
By Julia O'Driscoll, The Week UK Published
-
The #MeToo movements around the world
The Explainer French men have been sharing stories of abuse in the latest calling out of sexual assault and harassment
By The Week Staff Published
-
Deaths of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies hang over Sydney's Mardi Gras
The Explainer Police officer, the former partner of TV presenter victim, charged with two counts of murder after turning himself in
By Austin Chen, The Week UK Published
-
How the idyllic Galapagos Islands became staging post in world drug trade
Under the radar Ecuador's crackdown on gang violence forces drug traffickers into Pacific routes to meet cocaine demand
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Armed gangs, prison breaks and on-air hostages: how Ecuador was plunged into crisis
The Explainer Gangs launch deadly revenge after president declares state of emergency following escape of feared drug boss from prison
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Ecuador tips toward chaos amid prison breaks, armed TV takeover
Speed Read New President Daniel Noboa authorized the military to 'neutralize' powerful drug-linked gangs after they unleashed violence and terror across Ecuador
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Prague shooting: student kills 14 people at university
Speed reads Police believe suspect, who killed himself, may have shot his father before carrying out mass murder
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published