4 TIME. The police conducted a vast operation of “raising doubts” in the mall 4 Times, The Defence, on Tuesday morning, after a call indicating the presence of an armed man.
Summary Defence 4 Time A man armed ? Métro and RER La Défense The essential After a phone call indicating the presence of a man carrying a weapon, this Tuesday morning at the mall 4 Time of The Defence, the police undertook an operation called “lifting of doubts,” to search the person, verify if the allegations of the witness were true or if it was a false alert. The prefecture was asked to avoid the area, thousands of people were confined in the mall or in the offices and towers surrounding it. “Doubts were raised” around 12.45 pm, the police operation has established that the threat was not real. The police identified on tapes of video surveillance “a man carrying a bag and a long subject”, but without that this document is considered conclusive. According to information from RTL, the man who called 17 this morning had indicated that they had seen a person carrying an automatic weapon and a vest”. Le Figaro referred the report of a man can be “the bearer of a kalashnikov”. The stations Champs-Elysées-Clémenceau, La Défense Grande Arche have been closed to the public, and the matches have been halted, before a slow return to normal by early afternoon. Live Receive our alerts live !
14:07 – More detail on what happened this morning at The Defense
This is a hotel, working at the Defence, who called on the 17 stating that he saw a man with a weapon. The police have conducted an operation of “removing doubt”, by implementing the classic protocol of intervention. Given the site – a shopping center in one of the business centres, the largest in Europe – the scale of the device has resulted in over 2 hours of checks and exceptional measures, such as the closure of the train station, metro stations, and the confinement of the office workers, such as students in schools located close to the commercial center. The police conducted the “pat-downs security” on the people who have been evacuated. Note : BFMTV indicates that witnesses have assured the police that a man threw a glass bottle on the ground for the break, shouting “Allahu Akbar” : this scene had in reality nothing to do with the suspicions of the police, but has sown the seed of disorder on social networks. After verifications, the authorities considered that there was in reality no threat on the site and that the testimony of the hotel was not convincing.
12:52 – The exploration of the scene is completed
The Prefecture of police confirmed that the police operations are completed. “The device will be lifted. At this stage no individual suspects have been spotted by the police on the spot from corroborate the report made to Police Emergency 17,” said the prefecture of Police.
12:50 – police Operation is finished
doubts have been raised indicates BFMTV, which is based on police sources. The audit operations have lasted for more than two hours in total. The police, however, remains mobilized to ensure the safety of the premises.
12:36 – A picture of video-surveillance “non-probative”
The forces of law and order and the prefecture could end the operation, control and audits in The Defence. More than two hours after the start of the operation, the police would only provide a preview on a video tape (from security camera) showing an individual suspect. BFMTV indicates that the police saw “a man with a backpack and a long subject”, but the image “is not at all convincing.”
12:30 – checks to be completed ?
According to the information of BFMTV, the checks seem to be coming to an end”. The transition to the comb end of the places would not have allowed to establish that the threat is very real.
12:25 – be Careful not to relay false information
The prefecture, as always in cases of suspicion of high threat, requires users not to relay false images or false information. Attention to the sources you visit, to inform you about the situation with The Defense, stay on reliable media.
12:21: audits still in progress
The reinforcements of police forces are now on site since almost 2h. According to BFMTV, the video-tapes of the surveillance cameras are being reviewed.
12:08 – An armed suspect wearing a black mask ?
According to a journalist of the online media Sputnik (news agency launched in France by the Russian government), “the individual reported to The Defence is of the “body type athletic, wears a “black mask”, a “bag in military-style” and weapon type “HK”.
12:03 – a Few moments of panic in the mall
the evacuation of The shopping centre is a complex operation and a long one : several people on the spot have been taken of panic when the security officers indicated that the premises must be drained, given the threat. On social networks, videos posted online by witnesses show people running in the hallways.
11:56 – Of thousands of employees confined in the towers of la Defense
for security reasons, it has been requested that people working in the business district of la Defense not to leave their offices during the intervention of the police and until the situation is secure. The district has 200 000 employees are making every day in the many towers and buildings of the site.
11:51 – Very heavy system of police Defense
According to the information of the site Act17.fr “the police officers from the operational support Group (GSO) of the Company, of security and of intervention of Paris (CSI-75) were deployed on the spot and the RAID has been put on alert”.
11:48 – The police examines the evacuees
According to witnesses on the spot, the police forces have in place a mechanism to ensure that the people present in the shopping center out, slowly, hands visible. Agents sometimes ask to examine the contents of the bags.
11:45 – station of Defence evacuated its tour
On request of the authorities, the station of the Defense is “being evacuated”. The centre commercial des 4 Temps is now curly.
11:41 – The mall evacuated
The authorities and the police have finally launched an operation to evacuate a part of the shopping centre.
11:36 – The man who gave the alert is an employee of the shopping centre
This is probably the reason why the police has taken very seriously the report made this morning, ver 10am : this is an employee of the mall that was called the 17 this morning. The latter, according to Le Parisien, would have “thought they saw a man carrying a weapon”. The log even indicates that it could be a “weapon long”.
READ MORE The Defense 4 Temps
The police intervention that took place in The Defence this Tuesday morning was held in the centre commercial des 4 Temps, which has been partially cleared, but not without a few scenes of panic. It is a high place in the commerce of paris west, bringing together no less than 230 stores. This makes it one of the largest in Europe. Spread over four levels of retail shops, shopping mall, serviced from Paris by the RER and the subway, sees more than 45 million visitors per year.
An armed man ?
The police decided to intervene in the commercial center of the 4 Time of the Defence after a notification. The latter has insured to have seen a man armed with a vest. Le Parisien adds that the testimony was a “weapon long”. Le Figaro wrote that the man “could be carrying a kalashnikov”. All of these hypotheses have not been confirmed at the time of the intervention.
Metro and RER are closed to The Defense
