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Gunman in Trèbes, France, Kills at Least 2 France Hostage Situation Ends; 4 Dead, Including Gunman
(about 1 hour later)
PARIS — A gunman opened fire at a supermarket in southwestern France on Friday, killing at least two people and taking hostages, an attack that has rattled nerves in a country that has been the site of several terrorist attacks in recent years. PARIS — A gunman killed three people in southwestern France on Friday in a burst of violence that included hijacking a car, shooting at police officers, and opening fire and taking a hostage in a supermarket — an attack that rattled nerves in a country that has been hit hard by terrorism in recent years.
The armed man entered a Super U market in Trèbes, about 50 miles southeast of Toulouse, claiming to be acting on behalf of the Islamic State group, although his connection to the militant group was unclear. The gunman was later killed by police officers when they stormed the supermarket, according to Gérard Collomb, the interior minister.
The attack came after a group of four plainclothes police officers in the neighboring city of Carcassonne were followed by an armed man in a car who shot at them, according to Prime Minister Édouard Philippe. One officer was wounded, but his life is not at risk, Mr. Philippe said. The armed man entered the Super U market in Trèbes, about 50 miles southeast of Toulouse, claiming to be acting on behalf of the Islamic State, although his connection to the militant group was unclear.
President Emannuel Macron linked the two episodes, saying that the attack in Trebes “was first an attack against police officers.” Speaking at a news conference in Brussels, where he was attending a European Union summit meeting, Mr. Macron said, “we believe that it is indeed a terror attack.” Mr. Collomb, speaking to reporters from Trèbes, identified the gunman as Redouane Lakdim, a 26-year-old who lived in the neighboring city of Carcassonne and who was known to the police as a petty criminal and drug dealer.
Gérard Collomb, the interior minister, said in a Twitter post Friday afternoon that the hostage taker had been killed by the police, but he then quickly deleted the post. “But we had monitored him, and we believed that he was not radicalized,” Mr. Collomb said, adding that the gunman had “abruptly taken action,” without apparent prior planning, despite the authorities’ surveillance.
Frédéric de Lanouvelle, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, told the BFMTV news channel that at least two people had been killed in the supermarket. Mr. Collomb said the gunman had acted alone.
He did not comment on the number of hostages who were held inside, although French news reports suggested most of the employees and shoppers had managed to get out. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack in a bulletin issued by its Amaq News Agency. It described the assailant as a “soldier of the Islamic State,” and the events as a response to the group’s call to target its enemies. That wording suggests the attacker was inspired by the Islamic State, rather than directed by it.
Mr. de Lanouvelle said the assailant had seemed “sympathetic” to the Islamic State, but he added that could not confirm reports that the attacker was asking for the liberation of Salah Abdeslam. Some French news organizations described the gunman as Moroccan, but government officials did not confirm that.
Mr. Abdeslam, the sole surviving member of the Islamic State group that killed 130 people in and around Paris in a series of coordinated attacks in Nov. 2015, is in detention in France. In a post on Twitter, Marine Le Pen, the hard-right, anti-immigrant politician who ran for president last year, linked the attack to immigration policies she contends are too permissive. “When will the government realize that we are at war?” she wrote.
The Paris prosecutor’s office, which handles terrorism cases nationwide, said that a terrorism investigation had been opened and that the Paris prosecutor was heading to Trèbes. Gérard Collomb, the interior minister, was also traveling to the scene Mr. Collomb said that Mr. Lakdim had first hijacked a car in the area, killing one person and wounding another. He then crossed paths in Carcassonne with a group of police officers who were returning to their housing after a jog, shooting at them and wounding one. The wound was not life-threatening.
Mr. Philippe, speaking from the eastern city of Mulhouse, said: “All of the information we have at the moment suggests that this is a terrorist attack.” Mr. Lakdim then drove to the supermarket in Trèbes, firing shots as he entered, killing two more people. Mr. Collomb praised a 45-year-old police officer who “voluntarily” switched places with a hostage Mr. Lakdim had taken.
After more gunshots were heard, the police stormed the store and killed Mr. Lakdim.
Speaking at a news conference in Brussels, where he was attending a European Union summit meeting, President Emmanuel Macron said, “we believe that it is indeed a terrorist attack.”
Mr. Collomb did not directly confirm French news reports that Mr. Lakdim had requested the liberation of Salah Abdeslam, saying only that he had called for the “liberation of prisoners.”
Mr. Abdeslam, the sole surviving member of the Islamic State group that killed 130 people in and around Paris in a series of coordinated attacks in November 2015, is in detention in France.
The Paris prosecutor’s office, which handles terrorism cases nationwide, said that a terrorism investigation had been opened and that the Paris prosecutor was heading to Trèbes.
France continues to be on high alert after deadly terrorist attacks struck the country in 2015 and 2016, mainly in Paris and Nice. Although there have not been any large attacks since the one in Nice in July 2016, there have been several smaller-scale assaults by lone individuals, and the French authorities regularly announce that new plots have been thwarted.France continues to be on high alert after deadly terrorist attacks struck the country in 2015 and 2016, mainly in Paris and Nice. Although there have not been any large attacks since the one in Nice in July 2016, there have been several smaller-scale assaults by lone individuals, and the French authorities regularly announce that new plots have been thwarted.
In the most recent deadly attack, two women were killed in October by a man with a knife at the main train station in the Mediterranean port city of Marseille. The deadly attack in Trèbes is the first since Mr. Macron’s government lifted the state of emergency that had been in place since the November 2015 attacks and Parliament passed a counterterrorism law that made permanent some of the emergency measures.
The police and security officers have been targeted in a string of attacks over the past two years. France also recently unveiled plans to toughen its stance on combating extremism in prisons and schools.
In a previous deadly attack, in October, two women were killed by a man with a knife at the main train station in the Mediterranean port city of Marseille.
Police officers and other security personnel have been targeted in a string of attacks over the past two years.
Three police officers — Franck Brinsolaro, Clarissa Jean-Philippe and Ahmed Merabet — were killed in attacks on the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and in a Paris suburb in January 2015.Three police officers — Franck Brinsolaro, Clarissa Jean-Philippe and Ahmed Merabet — were killed in attacks on the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and in a Paris suburb in January 2015.
A year later, on the anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo attack, officers fatally shot a man with fake explosives as he tried to attack a police station in northern Paris.A year later, on the anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo attack, officers fatally shot a man with fake explosives as he tried to attack a police station in northern Paris.
In June 2016, a Paris police captain and his longtime partner were killed in their home as their 3-year-old son watched. The attack, in Magnanville, was claimed by the Islamic State.In June 2016, a Paris police captain and his longtime partner were killed in their home as their 3-year-old son watched. The attack, in Magnanville, was claimed by the Islamic State.
In February 2017, a man armed with two large knives and shouting “God is great” lunged at a military patrol near an entrance to the Louvre. He was shot. In February 2017, a man armed with two large knives and shouting “God is great” in Arabic lunged at a military patrol near an entrance to the Louvre. He was shot.
A month later, a gunman was shot and killed by a military patrol at Orly Airport, south of Paris, after he attacked a soldier.A month later, a gunman was shot and killed by a military patrol at Orly Airport, south of Paris, after he attacked a soldier.
And in April, Xavier Jugelé, 37, a Paris police officer who had responded to the attack at the Bataclan concert hall in November 2015, fell victim to terrorism himself. He was in a police vehicle on the heavily guarded Champs-Élysées when a gunman opened fire, killing him and wounding two other officers, along with a bystander.And in April, Xavier Jugelé, 37, a Paris police officer who had responded to the attack at the Bataclan concert hall in November 2015, fell victim to terrorism himself. He was in a police vehicle on the heavily guarded Champs-Élysées when a gunman opened fire, killing him and wounding two other officers, along with a bystander.