Gunman critically wounded as siege ends in Luxembourg

Updated: 23:50, Thursday, 1 June 2000

The siege in Luxembourg, where a gunman has been holding 25 small children and their carers hostage, ended this evening when police and special foces stormed the day-care centre and shot the gunman.

The scene of the siege The scene of the siege

The siege in Luxembourg, where a gunman has been holding 25 small children and their carers hostage, ended this evening when police and special foces stormed the day-care centre and shot the gunman. He was seriously wounded. All the hostages, who had been held in the day-care centre in Wasserbillig since yesterday morning, are safe and well. The gunman, a 39 year old Tunisian, had demanded to be flown to Libya. He was reported to have been armed with a pistol, several grenades, a knife and petrol.

The police say two bullets were fired into the head of the gunman as he left the building with two hostages to make a statement to the media. Witnesses heard shooting when the assault began at the centre in the town of Wasserbillig. It is believed German anti-terrorist officers were on hand to back up local police at the siege which lasted a total of 28 hours.

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