MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Dozens of police officers were deployed to Les Halles neighborhood on Saturday after receiving a report of a hostage situation at a church via a special smartphone app. It turned out to be a hoax.
"The Government will be a civil party [in a case] to obtain compensation for damages following a false alert on Saturday, September 17, in Paris," Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said in a statement.
A 16-year-old hacker was reportedly taken into police custody earlier in the day on suspicion of setting off the alarm after he bragged about it on Facebook and in an interview with local media. His accomplice may still be at large.
