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French police officer and partner killed by hostage taker Paris policeman and wife killed in possible Isis-linked terror attack
(about 1 hour later)
A French police officer and his partner have been killed at their home by a suspect who was then shot dead when armed police stormed the property north-west of Paris. A man who claimed allegiance to the Islamic State group stabbed a French policeman to death on Monday night before being killed when police moved in, sources close to the investigation said.
A three-year-old child, believed to be the couple’s son, was rescued unharmed after a siege in Magnanville. The man’s wife was also found dead when police stormed the house. A three-year-old boy was rescued alive. French prosecutors have launched an anti-terror probe into the attack in the Paris suburb of Magnanville that was apparently carried out by a neighbour of the family.
The suspect was the victim’s neighbour. Authorities said they had tried to negotiate with the suspect, but negotiations failed and they then stormed the house. Witnesses told investigators the attacker may have shouted “Allahu akbar” (God is greatest) as he stabbed the policeman repeatedly outside his home before holding the woman and the boy inside.
The suspect was a neighbour, who authorities had tried to negotiate with before storming the property at around midnight local time, according to French media reports. The police officer who died was named in the French media as Jean-Baptiste Salvaing, 42, an assistant chief in a nearby district. He was reported to have been wearing civilian clothes at the time.
The police officer who died was named in the French media as Jean-Baptiste Salvaing, 42, an assistant chief in a nearby district. The suspect was a neighbour who authorities tried to negotiate with before storming the property at around midnight local time, according to French media reports.
He was reported to have been wearing civilian clothes at the time and suffered a number of stomach wounds after he was attacked on his return home. Loud detonations were heard at the scene as Raid officers moved in.
Officers from the French police’s elite RAID section were involved in attempting to negotiate the surrender of the attacker. A number of small explosions, believed to have been detonated by police, were heard during the raid. Officers found the woman’s body when they stormed the building and the attacker was killed during the assault, said interior ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said.
“The toll is a heavy one,” the interior minister’s spokesman, Pierre-Henry Brandet, told reporters at the scene. “This commander, this police officer was killed by the individual … [and] we discovered the body of a woman. The assailant, the criminal, was killed. Thankfully, a little boy was saved. He was in the house. He’s safe and sound. He was saved by police officers.” The boy was “in shock but unharmed” and receiving medical attention, a prosecutor added.
“The toll is a heavy one,” the interior minister’s spokesman, Pierre-Henry Brandet, told reporters at the scene. “This commander, this police officer was killed by the individual ...… [and] we discovered the body of a woman. The assailant, the criminal, was killed. Thankfully, a little boy was saved. He was in the house. He’s safe and sound. He was saved by police officers.”
François Hollande said a meeting would be held at the presidential palace on Tuesday morning and declared that “all light will be shed” on the case.
The French president condemned what he described as an “odious act”.
“Light will be shed on the circumstances of this abominable drama whose investigation, under the authority of justice, will determine the exact nature,” Hollande said in a statement.
The interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, expressed his “infinite sadness” at the death of the police commander and his partner, who had worked for his ministry.
“The attacker was neutralised by Raid forces, who showed great composure and great professionalism and who saved the couple’s little boy,” Cazeneuve said in a statement.
“The inquiry opened by the justice authorities will establish the precise circumstances of this tragedy.”
Sources close to the inquiry told AFP the attacker had claimed allegiance to the Islamic State jihadist group while negotiating with police from the elite Raid unit.
“The anti-terror department of the Paris prosecution service is taking into account at this stage the mode of operation, the target and the comments made during negotiations with the Raid,” one source said.
The Islamic State’s Amaq news agency cited an unnamed “source” as saying an Isis fighter was responsible, but the group made no initial claim of responsibility for the attack.
Police sources had told AFP earlier in the evening that the attacker had taken the policeman’s partner and the boy hostage after stabbing the officer to death when he returned home around 9pm.
“The negotiations were unsuccessful – a decision was made to launch an assault” around midnight, said interior ministry spokesman Brandet.
The killing in France came a day after a gunman claiming to be acting in the name of Isis shot dead 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in the worst mass shooting in US history.
France is hosting the Euro 2016 football tournament under tight security, still reeling from jihadist attacks in Paris last November that left 130 people dead.
With AFP, Reuters and AP