From a metro platform in Barcelona to a railway train in Switzerland: it’s a busy evening for culture-enriching train-related activities in Modern Multicultural Europe.

An Iranian culture-enricher got upset and took hostages on a train in the canton of Vaud. When he rushed police with his hatchet, hammer, and knife, he was shot to death. I hope the police officers didn’t violate his human rights by “neutralizing” him.

He was already known to police, of course.

Many thanks to Gary Fouse for translating this article from Le Matin:

Train attacked: The perpetrator has been formally identified

The 32-year-old man responsible for the taking of hostages on Thursday evening was known to police services. His motivations are reportedly tied to his conditions as an asylum-seeker.

We know more about the man who took passengers hostage on a train connecting Baulmes and Yverdon-les-Bains (Vaud) Thursday evening. And his motivations.

According to a statement from the cantonal police of Vaud, he is a 32-year-old asylum-seeker of Iranian nationality, residing in the canton of Geneva.

The hostage-taker was armed with a hatchet, a hammer, and a knife. Around 10:15pm, members of the police intervention team attacked. One of them first used his taser to immobilize the man, who rushed at them, the Vaud police state.

The armed individual, nevertheless, continued his path in the direction of the police and the passengers. It was then that a member of the unit used his weapon to neutralize him. The man was mortally wounded, and no hostages were hurt.

The police knew him

According to the initial elements of the investigation, his motivations are reportedly linked to his conditions as an asylum-seeker, as well as his insistent desire to have contacts with a female staff member at a center for asylum-seekers.

The police had also had to intervene several times because of his behavior, states the press release. The investigation continues under the direction of the Ministry of the Public Prosecutor.