PARIS: A gunman claiming allegiance to the so-called Islamic State group fired shots and took hostages at a supermarket in southwestern France on Friday, a local prosecutor said.
Security forces were responding to two separate incidents, one at a supermarket in the town of Trebes and the second, a 15-minute drive away, in the town of Carcassonne where a policeman was shot. It was unclear if the two incidents were linked. In Trebes, the man “entered the Super U supermarket at around 11: 15 am and shots were heard,” a security source told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The gunman claimed allegiance to the Islamic State group, the local prosecutor’s office said. Local authorities tweeted that the area was off-limits to the public. If the link to Islamic State is confirmed, the attack would be the first major incident since the election of centrist President Emmanuel Macron in May last year.
The town’s mayor confirmed that there were two victims of the attacker but their health condition is currently unknown. La Depeche du midi newspaper reports one person has died.
All the other hostages are now free, Mayor Eric Ménassi told BFM TV, and that the hostage taker was now alone with one police officer .