Hostage-taker at French school used fake gun

A man who took hostages at a school complex just south of Paris used a fake firearm, an official said.

All hostages were released unharmed and a suspect was detained after the incident yesterday.

Patrick Dallennes, an official in the Val de Marne region, said: “It wasn’t a firearm he used but a fake one with gas cartridges ... without the capacity to kill. It’s made to scare ... but it’s not very dangerous. It was a replica and at first it was hard to tell that it was fake.”