Man holding father hostage in Athens apartment after argument

Police units had cordoned off the street outside an apartment building in the southern Athenian suburb of Nea Smyrni on Wednesday night where a man has taken his father hostage following an argument, Greek media reported.

The 35-year-old man, who reports say had been hospitalized in a mental institution and is a drug addict, has locked himself in a room with his father on a first-floor apartment, and is holding a knife.

Psychologists and a police negotiator have been trying to convince the suspect to drop the knife for the past three hours, to no avail.

The 35-year-old is known to the police, as he had been arrested in the past. Neighbors reportedly said the man often quarrelled with his family.