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| Gunman shot dead by French police after three killed in terror attacks | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A gunman has killed three people in a series of attacks claimed by Islamic State near the picturesque town of Carcassonne in southern France, culminating in a three-hour hostage-taking at a supermarket before police shot him dead. | A gunman has killed three people in a series of attacks claimed by Islamic State near the picturesque town of Carcassonne in southern France, culminating in a three-hour hostage-taking at a supermarket before police shot him dead. |
| The attacker, named as 26-year-old Redouane Lakdim, from Carcassonne was known to police for petty crimes and drug-dealing and had been under surveillance. | The attacker, named as 26-year-old Redouane Lakdim, from Carcassonne was known to police for petty crimes and drug-dealing and had been under surveillance. |
| The shooting spree and supermarket hostage-taking on Friday, which also left 16 people injured including two very seriously, was the first major suspected terrorist incident since the president, Emmanuel Macron, lifted France’s two-year state of emergency last autumn and toughened anti-terror laws. | The shooting spree and supermarket hostage-taking on Friday, which also left 16 people injured including two very seriously, was the first major suspected terrorist incident since the president, Emmanuel Macron, lifted France’s two-year state of emergency last autumn and toughened anti-terror laws. |
| The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attacks without providing any evidence for the claim. | The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attacks without providing any evidence for the claim. |
| Questions will be asked as to how Lakdim was able to obtain a weapon and carry out a series of attacks when he had been monitored by security services. | Questions will be asked as to how Lakdim was able to obtain a weapon and carry out a series of attacks when he had been monitored by security services. |
| The interior minister, Gérard Collomb, said: “We had monitored him and did not think he had been radicalised.” He added: “He was already under surveillance when he suddenly decided to act.” | The interior minister, Gérard Collomb, said: “We had monitored him and did not think he had been radicalised.” He added: “He was already under surveillance when he suddenly decided to act.” |
| Just before 10am on Friday, Lakdim, armed with a gun, stopped a car on the outskirts of Carcassonne, shooting and killing the passenger and seriously injuring the driver. | Just before 10am on Friday, Lakdim, armed with a gun, stopped a car on the outskirts of Carcassonne, shooting and killing the passenger and seriously injuring the driver. |
| He drove off in the car and followed four officers from a riot police squad unit who had been out jogging. Carcassonne, a historic fortified town, sits in an area with a high concentration of barracks and forces. Lakdim pursued the officers towards their barracks and opened fire, seriously injuring one of them who suffered broken ribs and a punctured lung. The bullet passed 3cm from his heart. | He drove off in the car and followed four officers from a riot police squad unit who had been out jogging. Carcassonne, a historic fortified town, sits in an area with a high concentration of barracks and forces. Lakdim pursued the officers towards their barracks and opened fire, seriously injuring one of them who suffered broken ribs and a punctured lung. The bullet passed 3cm from his heart. |
| Lakdim then drove a few kilometres to a large Super U supermarket in Trèbes, a sleepy town of 5,000 inhabitants outside Carcassonne. At about 11am, he walked into the busy shop and immediately opened fire, killing two people. Witnesses said he shouted that he was a soldier from Islamic State. | Lakdim then drove a few kilometres to a large Super U supermarket in Trèbes, a sleepy town of 5,000 inhabitants outside Carcassonne. At about 11am, he walked into the busy shop and immediately opened fire, killing two people. Witnesses said he shouted that he was a soldier from Islamic State. |
| Shoppers near the butcher counter in the supermarket described hearing shots and running. | Shoppers near the butcher counter in the supermarket described hearing shots and running. |
| Christian Guibbert, a former police officer, was doing his shopping when he heard several shots. He told BFM TV his first instinct was to hide his wife and several other customers in a butcher’s fridge in the store, before trying to escape through an emergency exit as the police were arriving. | Christian Guibbert, a former police officer, was doing his shopping when he heard several shots. He told BFM TV his first instinct was to hide his wife and several other customers in a butcher’s fridge in the store, before trying to escape through an emergency exit as the police were arriving. |
| “I saw one person on the ground and a person who was extremely excited who had a handgun in one hand and knife in the other and was shouting Allahu Akbar,” he said. “He was very agitated, I knew at once it was a terrorist. After 25 years in the police force, one knows these things. He shot several times in the air.” | “I saw one person on the ground and a person who was extremely excited who had a handgun in one hand and knife in the other and was shouting Allahu Akbar,” he said. “He was very agitated, I knew at once it was a terrorist. After 25 years in the police force, one knows these things. He shot several times in the air.” |
| Gendarmes intervened to evacuate some of the people inside the supermarket, the interior minister said. They found Lakdim holding a woman hostage in order to protect himself. A gendarme offered to take the woman’s place. The gunman agreed to the swap, so the gendarme stayed with him while others were evacuated. That gendarme left his mobile phone line open on a table so security forces outside could hear what was going on inside. | Gendarmes intervened to evacuate some of the people inside the supermarket, the interior minister said. They found Lakdim holding a woman hostage in order to protect himself. A gendarme offered to take the woman’s place. The gunman agreed to the swap, so the gendarme stayed with him while others were evacuated. That gendarme left his mobile phone line open on a table so security forces outside could hear what was going on inside. |
| When security forces outside the store heard via the telephone that a shot was fired inside, they immediately stormed the supermarket and shot Lakdim dead. The gendarme who had take the place of a hostage was found very seriously injured. The interior minister praised his “heroism”. At least one more officer was injured by gunshots during the assault. | When security forces outside the store heard via the telephone that a shot was fired inside, they immediately stormed the supermarket and shot Lakdim dead. The gendarme who had take the place of a hostage was found very seriously injured. The interior minister praised his “heroism”. At least one more officer was injured by gunshots during the assault. |
| The hostage-taking situation had lasted just over three hours, during which the gunman had asked for the release of prisoners. | The hostage-taking situation had lasted just over three hours, during which the gunman had asked for the release of prisoners. |
| He asked for the release of Salah Abdeslam, the only surviving suspect from the jihadi group that carried out the November 2015 Paris attacks, French state TV reported. Abdeslam is in solitary confinement in a French high-security prison as the investigation into the Paris attacks continues. | He asked for the release of Salah Abdeslam, the only surviving suspect from the jihadi group that carried out the November 2015 Paris attacks, French state TV reported. Abdeslam is in solitary confinement in a French high-security prison as the investigation into the Paris attacks continues. |
| The interior minister said Lakdim was acting alone. Security sources told Agence France-Presse that the gunman was believed to be a Moroccan national who was on a watchlist of suspected Islamic extremists, but the government did not confirm his nationality and said it did not believe he had been radicalised. | The interior minister said Lakdim was acting alone. Security sources told Agence France-Presse that the gunman was believed to be a Moroccan national who was on a watchlist of suspected Islamic extremists, but the government did not confirm his nationality and said it did not believe he had been radicalised. |
| Anti-terrorist police are heading the investigation. | Anti-terrorist police are heading the investigation. |
| In October last year, Macron toughened anti-terror laws and lifted France’s two-year state of emergency which had been declared by the former Socialist president François Hollande on the night of the Paris attacks that killed 130 people in November 2015. | In October last year, Macron toughened anti-terror laws and lifted France’s two-year state of emergency which had been declared by the former Socialist president François Hollande on the night of the Paris attacks that killed 130 people in November 2015. |
| From an EU summit in Brussels before rushing back to Paris, Macron said it had been no secret that the terrorist threat in France remained high. | From an EU summit in Brussels before rushing back to Paris, Macron said it had been no secret that the terrorist threat in France remained high. |
| He said the threat had been high for a few months because of a risk from individuals in France. He said: “We have a lot of individuals who have radicalised themselves.” He said some had a psychological pathology although he did not say if that was the case for Lakdim. He said the current threat in France was different to that two to three years ago when terrorist attacks were organised and ordered from Syria and Iraq. Currently the risk was from dangerous “individuals” in France, he said. | He said the threat had been high for a few months because of a risk from individuals in France. He said: “We have a lot of individuals who have radicalised themselves.” He said some had a psychological pathology although he did not say if that was the case for Lakdim. He said the current threat in France was different to that two to three years ago when terrorist attacks were organised and ordered from Syria and Iraq. Currently the risk was from dangerous “individuals” in France, he said. |
| French police have undertaken training on hostage-taking situations in supermarkets in recent years. In January 2015, after the terror attack on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, a gunman, Amédy Coulibaly, held hostages at a kosher supermarket in eastern Paris, killing four people before police shot him dead. | French police have undertaken training on hostage-taking situations in supermarkets in recent years. In January 2015, after the terror attack on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, a gunman, Amédy Coulibaly, held hostages at a kosher supermarket in eastern Paris, killing four people before police shot him dead. |
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