A hostage situation in the western German city of Sinzig has ended peacefully, with no injuries, police said Friday.
The incident triggered a massive police operation involving special forces and hundreds of officers.
Police said the suspected criminal is still absconding.
Officials said two hostages locked in a safe room were freed safely.
What do we know about the incident?
Police were called to the bank branch on Friday morning after receiving information that several people were being held hostage.
The hostages also included the driver of a cash transport vehicle.
A man, reportedly wearing a white jumpsuit “similar to a beekeeper’s suit”, reportedly approached the employee outside the bank at around 9 a.m. local time (0700 GMT/UTC), threatened her, and seized a container of cash.
He then allegedly locked the two people in a separate room in the bank and fled before the police arrived.
Authorities sealed off the entire city area and called in special forces, who cleared everything after noon.
Police spokesman Jürgen Fachinger said, “Special forces entered the bank and found two people inside, apparently unharmed, who were locked in a room.”
According to the police, there were no customers among the hostages.
Deputy Mayor Hans-Werner Adams said it was a relief that “the nightmare is over.”
Police said they had no direct contact with the suspect.
Edited by: Wesley Rahn, Dmytro Lyubenko