A Primark clothing store in the Qwartz de Villeneuve-la-Garenne mall in the suburb of Hauts-de-Seine bore witness to a bold attempted robbery in Paris, France, as two or three armed men entered the store at about 6:30 a.m. seemingly with intentions of robbing the store, trapping about 18 workers inside.
The robbery was unsuccessful however, with all 18 workers being freed by elite special forces after the authorities responded to the situation. The local police stopped all traffic around the area as the special forces were dispatched, according to The Guardian.
Despite the grim scenario of a possible hostage-taking attempt, police spokeswoman Magalie Charbonneau believes that the incident seems like an armed robbery gone wrong instead.
"Right now it looks like an armed robbery gone wrong rather than a hostage-taking," she said.
The police were alerted to the situation by one of the workers in the store, who was able to contact the police through a text message while being locked in the bathroom, reports NBC News.
Though the extraction of the workers from the store was successful however, the gunmen are still at large. An official, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, stated that the police are currently on the hunt for the assailants, according to The Stars and Stripes.
The store is located in a shopping center close to the Seine River, which is about six miles north of central Paris.
The attempted robbery in France comes just a few days when another dramatic robbery happened in the United States, covered by HNGN in this article.
