A tense standoff in the Athens suburb of Nikaia has ended safely after a 49-year-old man who had been holding his wife inside their home was talked into surrendering by a police negotiator, authorities said.
Police were alerted when a woman reported that a man was forcibly holding his wife and claiming to be armed.
When members of Greece's DIAS rapid-response unit arrived, the man pulled the woman from the yard back inside the house, and she signaled to officers that he was holding what appeared to be a hand grenade.
Following negotiations with a police mediator, the man agreed to end the standoff and the woman opened the door.
Both were escorted out, and police transported the man to a psychiatric facility for evaluation. Despite the reports of a grenade and a weapon, investigators found neither during their search of the property.
Neighbors told reporters the couple had drawn concern before, describing ongoing mental health struggles for both individuals.
One neighbor said she had previously heard the man threaten to have a grenade, while another said the couple had been heard shouting for roughly three days, adding that both take psychiatric medication and that the man had reportedly threatened his wife with a knife during the standoff.
Police handcuffed and detained the man immediately upon entering the residence. According to preliminary information, he has a history of psychiatric hospitalizations, and his wife is reported to have a similar history.