Ex-Teacher Frees His Hostages at French School

A former teacher armed with a handgun that fires rubber bullets surrendered peacefully Thursday after taking hostage nearly two dozen people, most of them students, in a classroom at his former school in western France, officials said.

Nicolas Vilpail, 33, was on medication and apparently under the influence of alcohol during the four hours he held 21 students and two aides captive, authorities said. A government official said Vilpail had made “paranoiac demands.”

No one was injured.

Vilpail had taught at the Colbert de Torcy High School until two years ago, school officials said. Although his gun was capable of firing only rubber bullets, police said, the weapon was dangerous. He surrendered after hours of negotiations, said Jean-Luc Prigent, an aide in the local administration.

Education Minister Gilles de Robien said Vilpail had resigned of his own accord from the national education system in November. It was unclear whether he had taught elsewhere in the last two years.

The minister, who visited the school, said the crisis ended peacefully in part because of the calm, responsible behavior of the students, ages 16 to 18.

One of two teacher’s aides taken captive said Vilpail appeared “calm and terribly depressed.”

A police unit determined the number of captives by slipping a piece of paper under the door and asking hostages to write their names on it, said Dominique Dezecot, spokeswoman for the prefecture. The paper was signed by 21 students and two teacher’s aides, she said.