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French bank hostage-taker gives himself up to police

A gunman who took six hostages in a bank in the northern French port city of Le Havre gave himself up to police, officials said late Thursday.

“The hostages have been freed, safe and sound,” Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said, hours after an elite RAID police unit had been deployed.

The gunman, aged 34, had entered the premises at 4:45 pm (1445 GMT), a police official told AFP.

The man had a history of psychiatric problems and had been in trouble previously for kidnapping and firearms offences, a source close to the case said.