Swiss Police Shoot Man Who Took Hostages on Train

Swiss authorities reported that a man armed with an axe and a knife held 15 hostages on a train for nearly four hours until police stormed in and fatally injured the man late last Thursday. The incident took place in the town of Echeres-sur-Chaux on the railway line connecting Polm and Yverdon-les-Bains in the Swiss Vaud region near the French border. The Vaud police stated in a press release today, "All hostages were freed unharmed. The hostage-taker sustained fatal injuries during the intervention." The police did not provide any details regarding potential motives, stating that the suspect was a 32-year-old Iranian asylum seeker. John Christophe Souterrel, a spokesperson for the Vaud police, mentioned that there was no indication that the hostage-taking was a terrorist incident. Public prosecutor Eric Kaltenreider told local television, "This is an unprecedented incident given the number of victims, with 15 hostages, and the intervention of 60 police officers." Hostage situations are rare in Switzerland, though they do occur in banks and companies. In January 2022, employees of a watch manufacturing company were taken hostage and forced to open a safe containing precious metals.