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| 'Al-Qaida' gunman takes hostages in Toulouse bank | 'Al-Qaida' gunman takes hostages in Toulouse bank |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| A gunman claiming links to al-Qaida was holding four employees of a bank hostage in southern France on Wednesday, not far from the former home of drive-by killer Mohamed Merah, who shot dead seven people in March, including three Jewish schoolchildren. | A gunman claiming links to al-Qaida was holding four employees of a bank hostage in southern France on Wednesday, not far from the former home of drive-by killer Mohamed Merah, who shot dead seven people in March, including three Jewish schoolchildren. |
| Police were called to the CIC bank in an eastern suburb of Toulouse after the alarm was raised. Police, who immediately blocked roads and surrounded the building, said a man in his 30s went into the bank around 10am local time and fired one shot shortly after staff refused to hand over cash. | |
| Police have made contact with the gunman, who claims to have explosives and has demanded to speak to officers from Raid, the elite special forces police brigade based in Paris. A bomb disposal team was at the scene. | Police have made contact with the gunman, who claims to have explosives and has demanded to speak to officers from Raid, the elite special forces police brigade based in Paris. A bomb disposal team was at the scene. |
| Members of Raid negotiated with Merah for 32 hours during a siege of his Toulouse flat, which they finally stormed, shooting him dead, almost exactly three months ago. | Members of Raid negotiated with Merah for 32 hours during a siege of his Toulouse flat, which they finally stormed, shooting him dead, almost exactly three months ago. |
| Merah killed three French paratroopers before turning his guns on a private Jewish school, where he killed a rabbi and three young children in March. He had also claimed links to al-Qaida. | Merah killed three French paratroopers before turning his guns on a private Jewish school, where he killed a rabbi and three young children in March. He had also claimed links to al-Qaida. |
| One local woman who runs a restaurant next to the CIC bank told Paris Match she had heard a gunshot. Police have asked residents to remain at home, fearing the gunman could open fire if they attempt to evacuate the area. | One local woman who runs a restaurant next to the CIC bank told Paris Match she had heard a gunshot. Police have asked residents to remain at home, fearing the gunman could open fire if they attempt to evacuate the area. |
| "We have no idea if his claim to be linked to al-Qaida is serious or fantasy," a police union spokesman told Reuters. | "We have no idea if his claim to be linked to al-Qaida is serious or fantasy," a police union spokesman told Reuters. |
| On Wednesday, a school near the bank, where children were due to sit their baccalaureat examinations was evacuated. | On Wednesday, a school near the bank, where children were due to sit their baccalaureat examinations was evacuated. |
| It is the second time in a month Toulouse, known as the "pink city" because of the rose-coloured stone of its public buildings, has been the scene of a hostage-taking. | It is the second time in a month Toulouse, known as the "pink city" because of the rose-coloured stone of its public buildings, has been the scene of a hostage-taking. |
| Two weeks ago, a 50-year-old man brandishing a shotgun took a security guard hostage at the headquarters of Météo France, the French weather service. | Two weeks ago, a 50-year-old man brandishing a shotgun took a security guard hostage at the headquarters of Météo France, the French weather service. |
| An elite squad of police marksmen shot the man, who remains in a critical condition in hospital. The security guard escaped without injury. | An elite squad of police marksmen shot the man, who remains in a critical condition in hospital. The security guard escaped without injury. |
| Cedric Delagean, an official for the police union, Unsa, told Reuters the hostage-taking appeared to be an attempted armed robbery that went wrong. | Cedric Delagean, an official for the police union, Unsa, told Reuters the hostage-taking appeared to be an attempted armed robbery that went wrong. |
| "The most probable hypothesis is that this guy is crazy, but that doesn't make him less dangerous," a police source told journalists at the scene, who were pushed back from the scene as police sharpshooters took up their positions around the bank. | "The most probable hypothesis is that this guy is crazy, but that doesn't make him less dangerous," a police source told journalists at the scene, who were pushed back from the scene as police sharpshooters took up their positions around the bank. |