Gunman arrested, hostages freed in S. France

A 17-year-old man was arrested late Tuesday night in the Toulouse suburb of Blagnac after taking four women hostage in a tobacco shop and firing warning shots at police earlier in the evening.

Christophe Castaner, French Minister of the Interior, announced on Twitter shortly before midnight on Tuesday that the youth had been arrested.

Castaner also thanked the elite law enforcement units -- Search, Assistance, Intervention, and Deterrence (RAID) unit and Research and Intervention Brigade (BRI) -- for their "composure and professionalism."

The hostages were freed earlier Tuesday evening, with the first hostage freed shortly before 8 p.m. (1800 GMT), and the remaining three hostages freed around 9 p.m. (1900 GMT).

The scene began at 4:15 p.m. local time (1415 GMT), when the 17-year-old, named as Yanis D. in the French press, took four women hostage in a tobacco shop in Blagnac.

The young man used his smart phone to stream the hostage-taking live on Facebook. In the video, he said he was "recruited by a militia" that was "seeking justice" and would reveal it in the coming days. He also made vague references to events that would take place in Paris at the Bastille, but claimed he was not a terrorist.

In the video, he can be seen giving orders to the four hostages while gesturing with a hand gun, and heard saying "please" and "thank you."

The youth was already known to police after being arrested at a December 2018 demonstration by the "yellow vests" movement, but terrorist motives have been ruled out at this stage. Local officials said at the scene that the teen appeared "depressed" and "concerned about his mental health."

"It's a relief," Joseph Charles, mayor of Blagnac told French television channel BFMTV, adding that he does not "think he [the hostage taker] had the intention to really commit something irremediable."