Hostage taker leads police on car chase
Residents of Peristeri late Sunday night witnessed a police car chase seemingly straight out of an action movie after a 35-year-old man grabbed a woman at gunpoint and forced her into a car. The man, believed to be a drug user, grabbed the 38-year-old woman on Alkmini Street in the western Athens suburb and drove off with her in a car he stole at the scene after threatening the driver with an air pistol. A few minutes later, on the road to Piraeus, the man stopped another car, forced the driver out and continued with the woman hostage in the new vehicle. Police cars gave chase and came under fire from the abductor, who was finally arrested in the district of Kaminia after freeing his hostage. According to sources, the man – who reportedly rambled incoherently under questioning – faces charges that include kidnapping, robbery and attempted homicide.
