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| France church attack: Priest killed in hostage-taking near Rouen | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A priest has been killed in an attack by two armed men at his church near Rouen in northern France, police and French media have said. | A priest has been killed in an attack by two armed men at his church near Rouen in northern France, police and French media have said. |
| The armed men entered the church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray during Mass, taking the priest and four other people hostage, the interior ministry said. | |
| French TV said shots had been heard after police arrived at the scene. Both hostage-takers are now dead. | French TV said shots had been heard after police arrived at the scene. Both hostage-takers are now dead. |
| The area has been cordoned off and police have told people to stay away. | The area has been cordoned off and police have told people to stay away. |
| French interior ministry spokesman, Pierre-Henri Brandet, said one of the hostages had been critically wounded. | |
| He said the hostage-takers had been "neutralised" after coming out of the church. Police were now searching the church for explosives. | |
| 'Barbaric' | |
| Mr Brandet said the motive of the attackers was not immediately clear, but the investigation into the incident would be led by anti-terrorism prosecutors. | |
| French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has expressed his horror at the "barbaric attack". | |
| "The whole of France and all Catholics are wounded. We will stand together," he wrote on Twitter. | |
| President Francois Hollande and Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve are on their way to Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray to be briefed by police. | President Francois Hollande and Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve are on their way to Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray to be briefed by police. |
| A woman who works at a local beauty parlour, Eulalie Garcia, said she had known the 92-year-old priest since her childhood. | |
| "My family has lived here for 35 years and we have always known him," she said. | |
| "He was someone who was treasured by the community. He was very discreet and didn't like to draw attention to himself." | |
| There was no immediate word on the identity of the hostage-takers, but France has been on high alert since the Bastille Day attack in Nice earlier this month, when a man ploughed a lorry into celebrating crowds, killing more than 80 people. | |
| The Nice attack was carried out by Tunisian Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, who was not a known jihadist but so-called Islamic State said he had acted in response to its calls to target civilians in countries that have been attacking it. | |
| The BBC's Lucy Williamson in Paris says the French government has been under huge pressure to prevent further attacks. | |
| Are you in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray? Have you been affected by the hostage incident? You can share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. | Are you in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray? Have you been affected by the hostage incident? You can share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. |
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