The city of Romilly-sur-Seine in the Aube department of France witnessed a hostage situation inside an LCL bank branch on Tuesday evening, where a man armed with a knife held three women hostage.

The operation began around 6:00 PM local time when the suspect stormed the bank and took the hostages at gunpoint. Security forces managed to free the first hostage about 15 minutes after the operation started, while the second hostage was released after more than an hour. The third hostage remained captive until a special intervention unit was able to free her at 9:40 PM after storming the bank, where the suspect was arrested without any injuries among the hostages.

The police imposed a security cordon around the area, while fire and emergency medical teams arrived at the scene. Also present at the incident site were the prefect of the Aube region, Pascal Courtaud, deputy prefect Aurélie Cotrésivel, alongside the public prosecutor and the mayor of the city, Éric Villemin.

In a separate development during the operation, a driver of a white Audi tried to bypass a security checkpoint, prompting police to fire at him, which resulted in him being injured in the leg. Authorities confirmed that this incident is unrelated to the hostage situation.

Security sources reported that the suspect is known to French judicial authorities, and intensive investigations are currently underway to determine the motives and circumstances of the incident.