ZURICH, June 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Three people have died in a hostage situation in Zurich, police say.
A gunman, who has not been named, held two women captive in a flat in the south-west of the city early on Friday.
Police say they were locked in a standoff with the man for three hours, before he promised to surrender.
However shots were fired soon afterwards, and officers found three people – a man, 60, and two women aged 34 and 38 – in a critical condition. All three then died at the scene.
At 5.22am local time, Zurich officials informed the police that a woman had contacted them by phone and needed help. At the same time, another caller informed the police that she had heard someone screaming for help in the house next door.
Police arrived at the scene at approximately 5.30am. The man claimed to have two women and threatened to shoot them if the police did not retreat.
After a few hours of negotiation between the police and the man, the hostage-taker promised to surrender at around 8.30am local time. Minutes later, shots were fired in the apartment.
The man who died was a 60-year-old Swiss. The nationalities of the two women, who were 34 and 38 years old, haven’t yet been established.
A handgun was recovered from the scene.
A police spokeswoman told the SDA news agency that it was not yet clear whether the dead man they found in the apartment was the gunman or whether he had a connection to the two women. — NNN-AGENCIES
