Police negotiating with armed man holding children hostage in Luxembourg

May 31, 2000
Web posted at: 5:30 p.m. EDT (1730 GMT)

From Brussels Bureau Chief Patricia Kelly

WASSERBILLIG, Luxembourg (CNN) -- Police negotiated Wednesday with an armed man who held 29 young children and three female teachers hostage in a pre-school and day care facility in the Luxembourg village of Wasserbillig, near the German border.

The man has a history of psychiatric problems, Luxembourg national police spokesman Rene Lindenlaub said. Police earlier said the man was armed with a hand grenade, a revolver and a knife, but Lindenlaub said only that police were "almost sure" he was armed.

"We have the impression that he's very nervous and he is not very stable," Lindenlaub said. The gunman asked for a plane and to talk to his psychiatrist, who arrived on the scene later.

Police said the suspect is 40 years old, married and has two teen-age children. He comes from a neighboring village. He originally held more than 30 children and the two teachers when the standoff began about 3:30 p.m. He released eight children about 8 p.m.

Police said the children are between the ages of 4 and 7.

The facility houses a pre-school, a day care center for babies and after-school care for older children. When the armed man first entered, one teacher saw the man herding the others into a room: The teacher escaped with six babies and alerted the police.

At least 50 armed police surrounded the facility. The Luxembourg police have asked for help from German police in the incident.

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Police Grand-Ducale Luxembourg

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