MOSCOW: Police in the Russian capital have freed a supermarket employee who was held hostage by a knife-wielding man for several hours.

Moscow police said the suspect was arrested Sunday after police officers stormed the market. They described him as a previous offender who was intoxicated when he took the woman employee hostage.

Russian news reports say she suffered minor injuries.

The incident occurred at a branch of the Diksi supermarket chain in the Koptevo area of Moscow, northwest of the city’s center.