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Version 7 Version 8
France Hostage Situation Is Over; 4 Dead, Including Gunman France Hostage Situation Ends; 4 Dead, Including Gunman
(about 4 hours later)
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. The attack rattled nerves in a country that has been hit hard by terrorism 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 hostages in a supermarket.
The gunman was later killed by police officers when they stormed the supermarket, according to Gérard Collomb, the interior minister. The gunman, who witnesses said claimed to be acting on behalf of the Islamic State, was later killed by police officers who stormed the market. An officer wounded after exchanging places with some hostages was “fighting against death” in the hospital on Friday night, President Emmanuel Macron said.
As he entered the Super U market in Trèbes, about 50 miles southeast of Toulouse, and began shooting, the man shouted “God is great” in Arabic, and claimed to be acting on behalf of the Islamic State, witnesses said. His connection to the militant group, if any, was unclear. The attack rattled nerves in a country that has been hit hard by terrorism in recent years, and it underscored the threat posed by individuals inspired by terrorist propaganda but who act outside of any structured networks, making it difficult for intelligence services to monitor them.
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. “The level of the terrorist threat on our territory has not waned,” said François Molins, the Paris prosecutor, who handles terrorism investigations nationwide. “It is the result of radicalized individuals who are on our national territory.”
“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. Whether or not the attacker had any direct contact with the Islamic State remained unclear. The authorities identified the gunman as Radouane Lakdim, 25, who was born in Morocco but who lived in Carcassonne, about 60 miles southeast of Toulouse, and was known to the police as a petty criminal and drug dealer. He had previous convictions for illegally carrying a firearm and possessing drugs.
Mr. Collomb said the gunman had acted alone. Mr. Molins said that Mr. Lakdim had been flagged by French intelligence services in 2014 “because of his radicalization and of his ties to the Salafist movement,” and that he had been under surveillance in 2016 and 2017.
Christian Guibbert, a retired policeman, told French media that he was shopping for groceries with his wife and his sister-in-law when he heard gunshots, and saw a “very agitated” man with a handgun and a knife, yelling and shooting into the ceiling. But Mr. Molins said the surveillance had not uncovered “any precursory sign that could have foretold a terrorist act.” He denied reports that Mr. Lakdim had tried to travel to Syria.
“He was yelling threats at people, ‘everybody on the ground,’ ” Mr. Guibbert said. “ ‘Allahu akbar,’ yes, he yelled that several times.” The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, describing the assailant as a “soldier of the Islamic State” and the attack as a response to its call to target “coalition countries,” meaning countries that have fought against the group.
He said he hid his wife, his sister-in-law and other customers in a meat locker, and then called the police. “That’s when he saw me and ran after me,” Mr. Guibbert said, describing how he escaped through an emergency exit. The wording suggested that the attacker was inspired by the Islamic State, rather than directed by it. The group has made clear that no direct link is needed to carry out attacks in its name, although some of the deadliest assaults in Europe have been perpetrated by sympathizers guided by Islamic State operatives online.
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 that the attacker was inspired by the Islamic State, rather than directed by it. Mr. Molins said that Mr. Lakdim first hijacked a car in Carcassonne on Friday morning, killing the passenger and wounding the driver. He then targeted a group of police officers returning to their barracks after a jog, shooting at them and wounding one.
Some French news organizations described the gunman as Moroccan, but government officials did not confirm that. Finally, Mr. Lakdim drove to the market, the Super U in nearby Trèbes, where he killed two more people and took several hostages. Gérard Collomb, the French interior minister, said a 45-year-old police officer voluntarily traded places with them.
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 officer, a lieutenant colonel with France’s gendarmerie identified by French officials as Arnaud Beltrame, left his phone on a table with an open line, Mr. Collomb said, enabling the police outside to listen in.
Mr. Collomb said that Mr. Lakdim 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 barracks after a jog, shooting at them and wounding one. The wound was not life-threatening. After more gunshots were heard, the police stormed the store and killed Mr. Lakdim. Colonel Beltrame was “seriously wounded” in the exchange of gunfire, Mr. Collomb said, praising him for an “act of heroism.”
Mr. Lakdim then drove to the supermarket in Trèbes, firing shots as he entered, killing two more people and taking one hostage. Mr. Collomb said a 45-year-old police officer “voluntarily” traded places with the hostage. Mr. Macron, speaking from the Interior Ministry in Paris after returning from a European Union summit meeting in Brussels, said Colonel Beltrame had “saved lives” and honored his profession and his country.
The officer, a lieutenant colonel with France’s gendarmerie, left his phone on a nearby table with an open line, Mr. Collomb said, enabling police outside to listen in. About 50 people were in the market in Trèbes at the time of the attack, Mr. Molins said, although he could not specify how many were taken hostage. The gunman shouted “God is great” in Arabic as he entered, witnesses said.
After more gunshots were heard, the police stormed the store and killed Mr. Lakdim. The lieutenant colonel was “seriously wounded” in the exchange of gunfire, Mr. Collomb said, praising him for an “act of heroism.” “Saying that he was ready to die for Syria, he called for the liberation of his brothers, before shooting at a client and a store employee, who both died on the spot,” said Mr. Molins, speaking at a news conference in Carcassonne.
Speaking at a news conference in Brussels, where he was attending a European Union summit meeting, President Emmanuel Macron said that “we believe that it is indeed a terrorist attack.” Several French news reports said that Mr. Lakdim had demanded the release of Salah Abdeslam — the only surviving member of the Islamic State group that killed 130 people in and around Paris in a series of coordinated attacks in November 2015 — from detention in France.
Several French news reports said that Mr. Lakdim had demanded the release of 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 — from detention in France.
Mr. Collomb did not directly confirm those reports, saying only that he had called for the “liberation of prisoners” and that it was unclear how he had chosen his targets on Friday.Mr. Collomb did not directly confirm those reports, saying only that he had called for the “liberation of prisoners” and that it was unclear how he had chosen his targets on Friday.
The Paris prosecutor’s office, which handles terrorism cases nationwide, said that a terrorism investigation had been opened and that the Paris prosecutor, François Molins, was heading to Trèbes. Christian Guibbert, a retired police officer, told reporters that he was shopping in the market with his wife and his sister-in-law when he heard gunshots and saw a “very agitated” man with a handgun and a knife, yelling and shooting into the ceiling.
“He was yelling threats at people, ‘Everybody on the ground,’” Mr. Guibbert said.
He said he hid his wife, his sister-in-law and other customers in a meat locker and then called the police. “That’s when he saw me and ran after me,” Mr. Guibbert said, describing how he escaped through an emergency exit.
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.
One of the first major cases of homegrown terrorism in France occurred in 2012, in the area around Toulouse, where Mohammed Merah killed three French soldiers and four others, including three children, at a Jewish school. He had traveled to Afghanistan and Pakistan to seek training as a fighter.
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 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.
France also recently unveiled plans to toughen its stance on combating extremism in prisons and schools.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.
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 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.
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.