Vaud police do not believe hostage-taking was an act of terrorism
Published: Friday, Feb 9th 2024, 11:10
Retour au fil d'actualité
Following the hostage-taking on a regional train in the canton of Vaud on Thursday evening, the police are not assuming that it was a terrorist act. Investigations are continuing in order to clarify the circumstances of the attack.
"There are no elements that point us to a terrorist act. Neither terrorist nor jihadist," Jean-Christophe Sauterel, spokesman for the Vaud cantonal police, told the Keystone-SDA news agency on Friday
The hostage-taking lasted almost four hours and ended with the death of the attacker, who was shot dead by the police. The attacker was armed with an axe and a knife.
According to initial findings, the perpetrator was a 32-year-old asylum seeker. The police plan to release further information on this matter later today.
According to videos on social networks, explosions occurred near the regional train, which was stopped near Essert-sous-Champvent on the line between Yverdon-les-Bains and Sainte-Croix. "The aim was to create a diversion at the time of the attack," explained police spokesman Sauterel.
More than 60 police officers were deployed at the scene, including snipers from the Geneva police. As part of the cooperation between the police forces, Geneva "guarantees this specialization", the spokesperson added.
©Keystone/SDA
French 
English 
German 
Spanish 
Arabic