A group wearing masks attempted to kidnap the daughter and young grandson of a cryptocurrency leader in Paris. However, following a fierce confrontation, they fled without their intended captives.
The failed kidnapping attempt was recorded on video by a bystander in Paris’s 11th arrondissement, located in the eastern part of the city.
Law enforcement officials stated that the female victim was the offspring of an entrepreneur who runs a cryptocurrency firm. She and her spouse defended themselves against three assailants until bystanders intervened, causing the suspects to escape in a van.
A special unit from the Paris police force responsible for dealing with armed robberies is anticipated to look into the incident. This event marks yet another abduction aimed at individuals associated with cryptocurrencies in France or their family members.
The incident occurred around 08:20 local time on Tuesday, as reported by local media, when three individuals jumped out of a white van attempting to abduct the woman and her child.
According to the AFP news agency, they are stated to be related to the co-founder of the French Bitcoin exchange platform Paymium.
The woman’s spouse, who was accompanying his family during this incident, attempted to shield them and endured repeated blows to the head. As the assailants wearing masks sought to separate the pair, they both cried out for assistance.
Once, she was spotted taking a firearm from the assailant and tossing it onto the road. It was subsequently identified as a fake air pistol.
At the time, the road was fairly bustling with activity as a cluster of kids headed toward an nearby elementary school.
At first, bystanders seemed too frightened to get involved, but once local residents started taking action, the three assailants ultimately abandoned their efforts and leaped into the waiting van. A fourth gang member was driving the vehicle away when a man threw a fire extinguisher at it as it sped off.
The family received treatment for slight wounds at the medical facility.
The failed kidnap attempt in Rue Pache occurred less than a week after the incident involving the French.
police rescued
The father of a cryptocurrency billionaire who was abducted in another part of the city while taking his dog for a walk and demanded a ransom.
This act demonstrates the extreme violence of the gang members; they released the kidnapped individual three days afterward only after severing one of his digits.
Several people were arrested.
In early January, David Balland, who co-founded the cryptocurrency wallet company Ledger, was kidnapped along with his spouse at their residence in central France.
According to French media reports, the victim was missing one finger.
when he was rescued
From a residence in Palaiseau, located south of Paris.