The hostage taking took place on a regional train between the towns of Yverdon and Sainte-Croix in the canton of Vaud, close to the Swiss capital Bern. The man, who was armed with an ax and a knife, held fourteen passengers and the train driver captive for four hours.
The police responded at 10:15 p.m. after passengers raised the alarm. An interpreter was called in to negotiate. When the hostage taker momentarily moved away from the hostages, the police took the opportunity to intervene and distract the hostage taker. The man then attacked a police officer with the axe, after which the latter shot him dead.
The passengers were able to leave the train unharmed. The hostage taker was a 32-year-old Iranian asylum seeker. Nothing is known about his motive, a prosecutor said at a news conference.