Inmates take guards hostage in Swedish prison, demand pizza with kebab

Two prison inmates in Sweden took two guards hostage on Wednesday, according to media reports.

They barricaded themselves in a guard room of Hallby prison, some 100 kilometres west of Stockholm, the news agency TT, the radio station SVT and other Swedish media reported.

According to the report, the two inmates covered surveillance cameras and demanded a helicopter. The hostages are said to be a man and a woman, while the hostage-takers were convicted of murder, according to the newspaper Aftonbladet. 

They are said to be armed with razor blades.

In the afternoon, according to SVT and Aftonbladet, they demanded all 20 inmates of their ward should get pizza with kebab toppings, and in return one hostage could be released.

Shortly afterwards, photos actually showed police officers putting several pizza boxes into a car. The pizzeria confirmed to TT that 20 kebab pizzas had been taken away.

'A major operation'

The police initially only said that a major operation was taking place at the prison and that officers with special authority were on the scene.

In the afternoon, they confirmed on their website that the two inmates had barricaded themselves in a room where two prison guards were also located. An investigation into abduction has been launched.

Hallby prison has 98 spaces in security class 1, the highest security level for Swedish prisons, according to the Swedish Prison Inspectorate.