Suspect in France supermarket hostage-taking is dead: Police union official

By SYLVIE CORBET AND SAMUEL PETREQUIN, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Police union official Yves Lefebvre says the suspect in hostage-taking situation in southern France has been shot to death by police.

An armed man took hostages in a supermarket in southern France on Friday, killing two and injuring about a dozen others, police said. He had earlier opened fire on officers nearby.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said all information suggested it “seems to be a terrorist act.” France has been on high alert since a string of Islamic extremist attacks in 2015 and 2016 that killed more than 200 people.

The attacker first fired six shots at police officers who were on their way back from jogging near the city of Carcassonne on Friday morning, said Yves Lefebvre, secretary general of SGP Police-FO police union. One police officer had a shoulder injury but it was not serious, Lefebvre said.

The suspect then went to a Super U supermarket in the nearby small town of Trebes, about 100 kilometres southeast of Toulouse.

Special police units were sent to the scene and local authorities blocked roads and urged residents to stay away.

The Paris prosecutor’s office said counterterrorism investigators were taking over the probe but did not provide details about why. Unconfirmed media reports say the assailant claimed connections to the Islamic State group.

French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb headed for the scene after talking with French President Emmanuel Macron, who is following the situation closely, according to a security official.

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today