Knifeman demands €1m to free schoolchildren

A man armed with a knife was holding children hostage at a school near Barcelona tonight and demanding €1m for their release.

He seized 25 children but after two hours, and negotiations with police, released 16 youngsters.

A short time later, another five pupils were freed, said an official at the school in Hospitalet de Llobregat.

Roger Persivas, the Spanish government’s senior representative in Barcelona, said the assailant, aged about 25, may be an former pupil of the Casal de l’Angel school because he appeared to know the building well.

The Interior Ministry office in Barcelona said the motive appeared to be money. The 25 year-old was reported to be demanding €1m.

The hostage-taker gave assurances he only wants money, said town councillor David Perez.

One boy who was evacuated from the school described how teachers rushed his and other classes out of the building, through the cafeteria and out onto the playground.

“They told us some man had slipped into the school,” the boy said “I was scared.”

A ministry spokesman said the area around the school had been cordoned off. The rest of the school has been evacuated, town hall said.

Ambulance crews were in the area to help parents and children in distress.

Hospitalet de Llobregat is an industrial town just south of Barcelona.