There are social media reports that there is a hostage situation developing in Northern France.
Hostage situation ongoing in #Roubaix #France close to #Belgium
— Madalina Mocanu (@M_Mocanu) November 24, 2015
https://twitter.com/RamiAlLolah/status/669233968429051904
Market chatter of hostage situation in Roubaix, northern France, several have gunshot wounds – waiting on details
— Livesquawk (@Livesquawk) November 24, 2015
REPORTS: Reuters quotes medical sources, saying there is a hostage situation in Roubaix in Northern France, close to Belgian border.
— Chris Howard (@howardcj) November 24, 2015
BREAKING: Hostage situation reported in northern French town of Roubaix near Belgium: medical services
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) November 24, 2015
https://twitter.com/RamiAlLolah/status/669237577254363136
https://twitter.com/RamiAlLolah/status/669235239072440321
#BREAKING: #Update: Bank's director and his family in hostage in #Roubaix"-not sure it's terrorism" pic.twitter.com/GnroRLbWDL
— Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) November 24, 2015
I’ll post more information as it becomes available.
UPDATE!!
More from TIME magazine:
A hostage situation was reportedly taking place in northern France, near the border with Belgium, on Tuesday afternoon.
Several people have been injured in the town of Roubaix, according to the Reuters news agency, reportedly by gunshot wounds. A local media source said there was ongoing police action with probable shots exchanged.
Hostage situation in #Roubaix, northern France: Several wounded according to reports. What is the world coming to? pic.twitter.com/B6Db3GYf6U
— Chris Percival (@ChrisPercival_) November 24, 2015
UPDATE!!
“A bank director and his family may have been taken as hostages,” the source added. Children were also reportedly among the hostages.
RTL reports that the situation began after the suspects were stopped at a security checkpoint, while other outlets suggest it may have begun as a robbery. There were also conflicting reports about where exactly in Roubaix the incident is taking place. Some suggest the gunmen were holed up inside an apartment building, while others report the incident took place inside a gas station.
French prosecutors have confirmed that the incident appears to have been a robbery gone wrong, according to MSNBC, and was unrelated to the Paris attacks of November 13.
This could go either way with such poor, generalized reporting. I wouldn’t be surprised if they discovered later it was part of an Islamist attack, or if it had nothing to do with terrorism.