NewsHostage drama in Georgia ended: gunman arrested 14 people...

Hostage drama in Georgia ended: gunman arrested 14 people – police speak of “act of terrorism”

Created: 09/21/2022 12:53 p.m

In a hostage-taking in Georgia, a gunman entrenched himself in a bank with 14 hostages. In the meantime, the police have been able to identify the perpetrator.

  • Hostage-takers in Georgia : A suspected gunman took 14 people into his power in a bank.
  • Videos of alleged hostage- takers : explosive devices in Kutaisi bank branch?
  • This Kutaisi hostage-taking news ticker is continuously updated.

Update from September 20, 8:55 p.m .: The hostage-taking in a bank in Georgia has ended. “All 14 hostages were freed and the hostage-taker arrested,” said the Interior Ministry in Tbilisi on Tuesday evening. The ministry said earlier that a gunman and 12 hostages holed up at the Kutaisi branch of the Bank of Georgia and demanded a large sum of money. The police have initiated investigations into, among other things, “hostage-taking and acts of terrorism”.

Cell phone video taken by one of the hostages released by Mtawari TV showed two suspected IEDs near the bank’s front door. According to the hostage, the gunman claimed they were bombs that would explode as soon as the door was opened.

Update from September 20, 7:15 p.m .: There are currently no official reports from the authorities in Georgia about the alleged hostage-taking in Kutaisi. Twelve people are said to be in the violence of a man who shows videos on Twitter with alleged explosive devices on his body. The police are on site with heavily armed forces.

Videos of alleged hostage-takers on Twitter: Explosives in Kutaisi bank branch?

Update from September 20, 6:15 p.m .: A video shared on Twitter is said to show the alleged hostage-taker from Kutaisi in the Bank of Georgia. The recordings cannot be verified. The video shows suspected explosive devices on his body and on the front door of the bank branch. The person seen is wearing a camouflage army suit. At the moment it is not known whether there were any injuries. The police have surrounded the building in the third largest Georgian city.

Update from September 20, 5:55 p.m .: As the TV channel Euronews reports, the alleged hostage-taker from Kutaisi is said to be asking for a ransom of two million dollars, a helicopter and allegedly a Russian flag. A man is said to have taken twelve hostages in the Georgian city on Tuesday afternoon.

There are no reports of injuries. Videos and photos show how heavily armed police forces surrounded a branch of the Bank of Goergia where the man with the hostages is said to be staying. According to various media reports, the allegedly armed man claims that he placed explosive devices on the door.

Hostage-taking in Georgia: Allegedly armed man entrenched himself in a bank in Kutaisi

First report from September 20th: Munich/Kutaisi – During a hostage-taking in the Georgian city of Kutaisi, a suspected hostage-taker allegedly took control of up to twelve people. This was announced by the Ministry of Interior of Georgia on Tuesday (September 20). As FOCUS Online reports, a mobile phone video taken by one of the hostages released by the broadcaster Mtawari TV shows two suspected explosive devices near the front door of the bank.

“He demands two million dollars within three hours,” a female hostage is quoted as saying in another cellphone video. The man has a grenade and there are “bombs that will explode”. As photos from various news agencies show, the police are on site with heavily armed forces. The Bank of Georgia building is therefore surrounded. As of 5:30 p.m., there were no reports of whether the bank had been stormed.

Kutaisi hostage-taking: Allegedly twelve people in violence by gunmen

Polizeikräfte vor Ort: Eine Geiselnahme macht in der zweitgrößten georgischen Stadt Kutaissi Sorgen.
Police forces on site: A hostage-taking is causing concern in the second largest Georgian city of Kutaisi. © Gela Gogokhia / AFP

Kutaisi has almost 150,000 inhabitants, is the third largest city in Georgia and is located in the west of the Caucasus country. Almost two years ago, a gunman took 43 hostages at a Bank of Georgia branch in the western city of Zugdidi. He escaped with an undisclosed amount of money, and there is no trace of him to this day. The hostages were released unharmed. It is not known whether there is a connection. According to the Ministry of the Interior, the police in Kutaisi are investigating “hostage-taking and acts of terrorism”.

In this news ticker we will keep you up to date on the Kutaisi hostage-taking. (pm)

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