Man releases 25 hostage children
A man armed with a knife has released all 25 children being held hostage at a school near Barcelona tonight.
He had demanded €1m for their release.
Police were negotiating with the assailant at the school in Hospitalet de Llobregat, a town hall official there said.
The Interior Ministry office in Barcelona said the man had a knife and was holding 25 children, all 12 years old. It said the motive appeared to be money. The 25 year-old was reported to be demanding €1m.
The hostage-taker is about 25 years old and has given assurances he only wants money, said town councillor David Perez.
One boy who was evacuated from the school described how teachers rushed his and other classes out of the building, through the cafeteria and out onto the playground.
“They told us some man had slipped into the school,” the boy said “I was scared.”
A ministry spokesman said the area around the school had been cordoned off. The rest of the school has been evacuated, town hall said.
Ambulance crews were in the area to help parents and children in distress.
Hospitalet de Llobregat is an industrial town just south of Barcelona.
