A man holds four people hostage in Quinçay, in Vienne. What do we know about the situation?
A large force of gendarmes has been deployed since the morning of this Monday, April 24, 2023 in Quinçay (Vienne) due to a hostage-taking in a house in this town located near Poitiers. Four people are currently being held by a man already known to the military services since he was described as “potentially violent” by General Girault, quoted by La Nouvelle République. The alert was given a few hours ago by telephone. At this stage, law enforcement favors a calm approach. No shots have sounded and no injuries are, a priori, to be deplored at the present time. GIGN is on site.
According to the first elements, it would be a family conflict at the origin of the hostage-taking, as indicated by BFM TV. According to France Bleu Poitou, the individual who is holding these four people hostage has recently been released from prison and is presented as “unbalanced”. The local radio also claims that the man is holding a woman – it is his partner or ex-partner – one of their children who would be an adult as well as two friends. Under what conditions are they retained? No information has yet been communicated on this subject.
About 70 gendarmes are mobilized indicates the prefecture. A command center was installed in a gymnasium at Creps de Boivre, located not far from the place of the hostage-taking. It is indeed only two kilometers away that the hostage-taking is in progress, in the place called “La Courtille”. Rescuers are also on site. For now, a phase of negotiations has begun.
