German police overpower Iranian immigrant to free school girls

Matt Moore:

The German police rescued four schoolgirls who had been held hostage in a cellar by a man with a knife during a five-hour standoff yesterday that began when he dragged them off a bus.

One girl had a superficial knife wound and the man was injured when officers overpowered him after entering the house shortly after 6pm local time, a police spokesman said. No further details of the injuries to the girl or the suspect were given.

The man had pulled the four girls, aged between 11 and 16, off a public bus he had commandeered and forced them into the basement of the home at about 1pm.

The bus was taking children home from school in Ennepetal, between Düsseldorf and Dortmund. One child's mother said the man had told the children he wanted to bring his family to Germany from Iran. Renate Schulte said her 16-year-old son, Marvin, who fled after the bus driver was forced to stop, told her the man had read a statement saying he wanted to be allowed to bring his children to Germany.

"He didn't seem aggressive," the boy said. "He said we should stay quiet and he didn't want to harm us."

The man, said to be in his 40s, ordered the bus driver to stop and forced a group of captives towards a house. He grabbed the keys from the occupant, shoved the children inside and locked the door. Neighbours said he lived in the area.

Police quickly surrounded the home and forced their way in, overpowering the man.

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