Four dead, several wounded in French market attack
March 23, 2018
A man killed three people and injured others before being shot dead in what French President Macron called an "Islamist terrorist attack." A policeman who swapped places with a hostage has also died of his injuries.
Image: Reuters/R. Duvignau
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Police at scene of hostage situation
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French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday evening that the gunman, allegedly linked to the "Islamic State" (IS), had killed three people and wounded several others during his rampage.
The first fatality came early in the day near Carcassonne when the attacker stole a car. The two other fatalities occurred later in a supermarket in Trebes in southern France, where the perpetrator took customers and employees hostage. French police gunned down the attacker after entering the supermarket, following an hours-long standoff.
Macron spoke alongside Prime Minister Edouard Philippe (L) and the Gendarmerie head Richard Lizurey (R)Image: Reuters/P. Wojazer
The news agency of IS, Amaq, claimed IS responsibility for the attack. It stated that its "soldier" had acted in response to calls to target "countries of the coalition," referring to the US-led international coalition, which includes France. The coalition has been battling the terrorist group in Syria and Iraq since 2014.
"Our country has suffered an Islamist terrorist attack," Macron added in his remarks, while noting that investigators were still trying to find out whether IS was behind the attack. The president also said that investigators are looking into how the attacker obtained his gun and when he had become radicalized.
First information on the attacker
Speaking to reporters earlier in the day on Friday, French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb identified the attacker as 26-year-old Redouane Lakdim, a "small-time" drug dealer. Lakdim was "known for petty crime," Collomb said. "We followed him and we thought there was no radicalization."
Collomb added that the attacker acted alone and had been "already under surveillance when he suddenly decided to act."
Both Macron and Collomb lauded the heroic actions of a French police officer who offered to switch places with a hostage in the Trebes supermarket and ended up suffering life-threatening injuries.
He has since died of his wounds, Collomb said on Saturday. In a tweet, Collomb said the officer, lieutenant-colonel Arnaud Beltrame, had died for his country and that France would not forget "his heroism, his bravery, his sacrifice."
Macron also paid tributes to Beltrame in a statement shortly before dawn on Saturday, saying that he "fell as a hero, giving up his life to halt the murderous escapade of a jihadi terrorist."
Beltrame remained with the armed suspect, keeping his cellphone on. This enabled officers outside the building to listen in on events inside. When they heard shots being fired, the police stormed the building, killing the gunman.
The attack began Friday morning near the city of Carcassonne, where the attacker had fired six shots at police officers who were on their way back from a run, according to the head of SGP Police-FO union, Yves Lefebvre. One police officer sustained a shoulder injury, but the injury was not serious, Lefebvre said.
Another union representative, Bruno Bartocetti, said the attacker also shot dead a person in Carcassonne before stealing the victim's car.
One security source, who asked not to be named, told French news agency AFP that a man "entered the Super U supermarket at around 11:15 a.m. and shots were heard." The source also divulged that "most of the employees and customers of the Super U managed to flee."
One of the shoppers told FranceInfo radio that some of the people had taken refuge in a cold room.
"A man shouted and fired several times. I saw a cold-room door, I asked people to come and take shelter," said the woman identified as Carole. "There were ten of us, and we stayed an hour. There were more gunshots and we went out the back door."
Local authorities closed off the area to the public. The southern town of Trebes is located some 100 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Toulouse.
French officials react, Germany expresses condolences
French Prime Minister Edouard Charles Philippe had initially described the situation as "very serious ... all the information we have as I speak leads us to think that this would be a terrorist act." French counterterrorism prosecutors have been put in charge of the investigation.
Macron sent Collomb to Trebes while special forces from Toulouse were deployed to the scene. Further reinforcements were reportedly deployed from Paris.
Merkel expressed her condolences to the victims of the Friday attack.
"When it comes to terror threats, we are standing with France," she said, according to the statement posted by her spokesman Steffen Seibert. "Wherever we can provide help and support, we will do so."
France has been hit by several terror attacks since 2015, when "Islamic State" militants launched a brutal attack across Paris. Over the past three years, there have been other attacks, and close calls.
Image: Reuters/C. Hartmann
December 11, 2018: Strasbourg shooting
A gunman opened fire at a Christmas market in the eastern city of Strasbourg, home to the European Parliament. At least two people were killed and 12 injured. Prosecutors opened a terror investigation. France immediately raised its national security alert to its highest level in anticipation of copycat attacks.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/aptn
May 12, 2018: Paris knife attack
A man wielding a knife attacks bystanders in a central neighborhood in Paris, killing one person and wounding another four. French prosecutors open a terror probe into the attack, citing witness accounts that the assailant shouted "Allahu akbar" ("God is greatest"). The militant "Islamic State" (IS) group claims responsibility for the attack, calling the knifeman one of their "soldiers."
Image: picture alliance/MAXPPP/O. Corsan
March 23, 2018: Trebes hostage crisis
An attacker claiming allegiance to IS perpetrates a string of violent crimes in the southern town of Trebes during the morning hours. He kills a man while stealing a car and then fires shots at police officers before entering a Super U grocery store, where he takes hostages. Police shoot dead the attacker. Four people are killed, including including policeman Arnaud Beltrame.
Image: Imago/PanoramiC/R. Gosselin
October 1, 2017: Marseille train station knife attack
A man fatally stabs two women at the Marseille train station. The perpetrator, Ahmed Hanachi, is shot dead by police on patrol. IS claims responsibility for the attack in a post by its news agency Amaq. In it, they call Hanachi one of the group's "soldiers." Two Interior Ministry officials resign after it is revealed that Hanachi was an undocumented immigrant who they had failed to detain.
Image: Reuters/J.P. Pelissier
April 20, 2017: Champs-Elysees police shooting
A gunman opens fire on police on the Champs-Elysees, Paris' most iconic boulevard. One police officer is killed and two individuals are injured before police shoot the gunman dead. A note praising IS is found next to the gunman's body. The terrorist group also claims responsibility. The attack occurs just days before the first round of the French presidential election. Security is tightened.
Image: Imago/Zuma Press/A. Freindorf
February 3, 2017: Machete attempt at Louvre
Soldiers shoot and severely injure a knife-wielding man outside the Louvre museum in Paris after he assails them. One soldier is lightly injured. The attacker had two further machetes in his backpack. A subsequent investigation reveals the Egyptian national had traveled to France from Dubai on a valid tourist visa. A Twitter account associated with the man's name refers to IS in posts.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/K. Zihnioglu
July 26, 2016: Murder of Normandy priest
Two teens enter a church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, Normandy and slit the throat of an 85-year-old priest in front of five parishioners. Police shoot the 19-year-olds dead as they try to leave. IS takes responsibility and publishes a video of the teens pledging allegiance to the group. Many French Muslims attend the next Sunday's Mass to show solidarity with Catholics and condemn the attack.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Petit Tesson
July 14, 2016: Truck attack in Nice
On Bastille Day, France's national holiday, a truck drives through crowds in Nice that had gathered to watch the fireworks on a major seaside promenade. Before being shot dead by police, the driver kills 86 and injuries more than 400 others. IS claims responsibility, stating that the attacker had responded to IS calls to target civilians living in coalition nations fighting IS in Syria and Iraq.
Image: Reuters/E. Gaillard
November 13, 2015: Paris attacks
France's most deadly terror attack: IS jihadis armed with automatic weapons and explosives undertake coordinated attacks in Paris including at the Bataclan concert hall, the national stadium and various street cafes. The mass shootings and suicide bombings kill 130 people, injuring hundreds more. IS claims responsibility. Then-President Francois Hollande calls it an act of war by IS.
Image: Reuters/C. Hartmann
August 21, 2015: Thalys train tragedy averted
A deadly attack is averted: On a high-speed train from Amsterdam to Paris, a man opens fire with an assault rifle that subsequently jams. Other train passengers tackle the man, preventing deadly violence. Four are injured including the attacker. The assailant had been known to French security officials for past drug-related activities and statements in defense of radical Islamist violence.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Bonniere
June 26, 2015: Beheading, truck explosion near Lyon
Yassin Salhi beheads his boss and displays the head, along with two Islamic flags, on the gate outside a gas plant near Lyon. He also tries to blow up the factory by driving his van into the gas cylinders. The attempt fails, but unleashes a smaller explosion, injuring two. French authorities claim links between the man and IS. He commits suicide in prison.
Image: Reuters/E. Foudrot
January 7-9, 2015: Charlie Hebdo, Jewish supermarket attack
Two men with automatic guns storm the offices of satire magazine Charlie Hebdo, killing 12 and wounding 12 others. A different gunman kills a police officer the next day, then four more during a hostage-taking on January 9 at a kosher grocery. Police eventually shoot all three gunmen dead, but not before they claim allegiance to IS and al-Qaida.
