"Completely beside himself": hostage-takers killed in Portugal - alleged perpetrator according to media reports German tourist
Created: 05/13/2022, 09:32
Police cordon off the crime scene in Algés.
© IMAGO/Ãlvaro Isidoro
In Algés near the Portuguese capital Lisbon, a hostage-taker was killed by the police on Thursday.
According to media reports, it is a German.
Algés - The police in Portugal shot a kidnapper who, according to media reports, was German.
The man was killed in the early hours of the morning in Algés, around ten kilometers west of Lisbon, after "several attempts to persuade him to give up failed," the police said on Thursday.
Whether the dead man was actually a German, the police did not want to confirm or deny until the evening.
The "very tall and strong man," armed with two knives, seriously injured a hostage and slightly injured a police officer, the statement said.
The background to the incident initially remained unclear.
Hostage-taker killed in Portugal: According to media reports, it is a German tourist
As the TV channel CNN Portugal reports, the man is said to have broken into a compatriot's house around 5 a.m. while he was drunk.
After the alarmed officials arrived, the man took at least one person hostage.
A special task force and trained negotiators were called in, but the man continued to be “uncooperative” and the police fired warning shots.
According to the report, the alleged hostage-taker then approached the police officers, who shot the man several times in the lower limbs and abdomen.
The German suspect was fatally hit and died on the spot.
Pepper spray was also said to have been used.
According to the police, the alleged hostage-taker is said to have been "completely beside himself".
"Unfortunately, despite first aid being given to him immediately, he died from the injuries he sustained," police said.
The authority regrets "the death of the attacker" and has initiated internal investigations, it said.
The incident is now being investigated by the General Inspectorate of Internal Administration.
The authorities did not publish any further details about the incident until Thursday evening.
(dpa/fmü)
