A man threatens passengers in a coach on the A 9 in Bavaria. He is arrested after an alleged hostage-taking and hours of large-scale police operations.
Hilpoltstein – hours of fear on the autobahn: After an alleged hostage-taking in a coach, the police arrested a suspect on Tuesday evening on autobahn 9 between Hilpoltstein and Greding in Bavaria.
The 30-year-old is said to have made death threats. He was alone in the vehicle for a long time with three bus rides. A police spokesman said there was an access by the police around 9:30 p.m.
Two people slightly injured
In the afternoon there was an argument on the bus, said the police spokesman. The 30-year-old suspect threatened to kill everyone. There was a physical argument between several passengers, it was said in the late evening. Two people were slightly injured. The alarm report was received by the police shortly after 5 p.m.
The perpetrator claimed to have a gun. Whether the man was actually armed could not be definitively clarified late in the evening. Initially, no weapon was found on him, the police said. But not only do you have to search the man, but also the bus. The arrested person was to be interrogated that night.
Hours of large-scale operation
Forces of the special operations command SEK had accessed after hours of large-scale operation in which dozens of officers were involved. The “Bild” reported on detonations. According to the spokesman, these were due to blinding agents that the SEK used to distract the perpetrator.
According to the police, three bus drivers were with the perpetrator on the bus for a long time – initially there was talk of two drivers. But they had also left the bus at the time of access, it was said. All other passengers were already outside on the hard shoulder. It remained unclear late in the evening whether it was actually a hostage-taking, as was initially assumed.
The people affected would be looked after and asked about what happened. Most of them speak little German. It was not clear when the passengers could continue their journey. The rear window of the bus was damaged.
Long traffic jams during an unclear situation
The Serbian bus was on its way to Munich and, according to the police spokesman, is said to have been on the way to Southeast Europe. Because of the dispute, the bus stopped on the hard shoulder and the passengers left the vehicle. Only the three bus drivers and the suspect initially stayed in the bus.
After the report, the police had completely blocked Autobahn 9 between the Hilpoltstein and Greding junctions in both directions. Motorists got stuck, long traffic jams formed. The route was opened again at around 10.30 p.m. In the evening the traffic flowed again. The railway line that runs along the motorway was also temporarily closed due to the initially unclear location. dpa
