Posted on March 23, 2018

Gunman in French Hostage Situation Shot Dead by Police After Killing at Least 2

Kathleen Joyce, Lucia I. Suarez Sang, Fox News, March 23, 2018

The gunman who killed at least three people and injured about a dozen others before barricading himself inside a supermarket in southern France has been fatally shot by police.

The suspect was identified as Redouane Lakdim, 26, a petty criminal and small-time drug dealer who was said to be radicalized and under police surveillance, French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said.

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack.

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The series of events appeared to begin in Carcassonne where police found a body with a gunshot wound to the head, local media reported. Sources said the gunman is believed to have killed one person and injured another before stealing their car.

The gunman then took shelter inside Super U market in Trebes around 11 a.m. local time after reportedly shooting at a group of police officers who were returning from a job in nearby Carcassonne. One police officer was shot in the shoulder and his injury was considered non-life-threatening.

At least two people were killed and about a dozen others were injured in the hours-long hostage situation in the supermarket.

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At the supermarket, the gunman reportedly swore allegiance to the ISIS and yelled “Allahu Akbar!” which roughly translates to “God is Great!” in Arabic.

Local French media reported the gunman also said “he is ready to die for Syria.”

Officials said Lakdim also demanded the release of Salam Abdeslam, the lone survivor of an ISIS terror cell behind the deadly 2015 attacks in Paris that killed 130 people.

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France has been on high alert since a string of Islamic extremist attacks in 2015 and 2016 that killed more than 200 people.