trebes shooting
© Reuters
Earlier today local media in southern France reported a police operation underway after reports of a shooting and hostage-taking in Trebes, in southern France.
At least two people were injured inside the supermarket, Mayor of Trebes Eric Menassi told BFMTV, calling the situation "a terrible drama."

The hostage-taker has claimed allegiance to Islamic State (IS, formerly known as ISIS) AFP cited the prosecutor's office as saying.

The man was shouting "Allahu Akbar" when he entered the supermarket, a witness told Europe 1. According to an AFP source, an unidentified man entered the supermarket at about 11:00 local time. Shots were then heard in the area.

Minutes before the hostage situation began in the supermarket, a police officer was shot by a gunman while jogging in nearby Carcassonne commune, AFP reported. The shooter opened fire from his car. It is unclear whether the two incidents are connected.
Witnesses also report the man shouting that he was "an Islamic State soldier".


During the operation, French police shot dead the gunman, according to Interior Minister Collomb:
Paris had earlier referred to the incident as a likely terrorist act.

The gunman, reportedly of Moroccan origin, first opened fire at four police officers in the historic town of Carcassonne on Monday morning. He later stormed a supermarket in the nearby town of Trebes, taking numerous hostages.

The man is also suspected of killing the driver of the car in Carcassonne and stealing his vehicle before the hostage-taking, according to reports in French media. The passenger of the vehicle was taken to hospital in a critical condition.

The combined death toll of the shootings in Carcassonne and the hostage situation in Trebes has climbed to three, according to BFMTV.

The French head of government said that at least one police officer had been injured as a result of the attack. "The counterterrorism office has taken the case; all the information we have as I speak leads us to think that this would be a terrorist act," Philippe told journalists.


Philippe also confirmed the incident in Carcassonne where four state police officers came under fire. "One of them was injured but is not in a life-threatening condition," he said.

A French Interior Ministry spokesman declined to confirm to BFMTV that two people had been killed in the hostage situation at the supermarket.

According to French media, the perpetrator was known to intelligence services - particularly the General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI).


The hostage-taker demanded the release of Salah Abdeslam, the only surviving terrorist suspect behind the Paris attacks, BFMTV said. Abdeslam is currently in prison awaiting trial for his alleged involvement in the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks.

According to Le Figaro newspaper, a 45-year-old lieutenant-colonel swapped himself in exchange for one of the hostages in a supermarket.
Collomb has identified the slain attacker as 26-year-old Redouane Lakdim, a resident of Carcassonne who was previously known to the police only for petty crimes and not links to any jihadist groups:
However, the minister said: "We had monitored him and thought there was no radicalization." According to Collomb, the perpetrator killed three people before being shot dead by police.

The interior minister also praised the heroism of a police officer, who "volunteered to swap his place with a hostage" in Trebes, and was seriously injured. He was able to keep his cell phone switched on while inside the shop, and remained in contact with the security forces during the standoff.

Collomb said that elite French units stormed the supermarket after they heard gunshots being fired inside, and then killed the attacker.

Meanwhile, Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the attacks through its propaganda mouthpiece Amaq. It provided no evidence in support of the statement.
Update (March 24)

More details on the hostage-taker are coming out. According to the Paris prosecutor Francois Molins. In addition to shouting "Allahu Akbar" and describing himself as an ISIS soldier, Lakdim shouted that he was ready to "die for Syria". He was known to police since 2011, having possessed an illegal weapon and engaging in drug trafficking.
Since at least 2014, Lakdim had been monitored by the French security services because of his ties to radical Islam, the Paris prosecutor said. Earlier on Friday, the French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said that the assailant was known only for "petty crimes." Collomb added that the man was under surveillance for some time, but that French law enforcement found no signs of "radicalization" in his behavior.

Molins, however, revealed that Lakdim had known links to the ultra-conservative Islamic Salafist movement. He added that the gunman "had been effectively monitored by intelligence services in 2016 and 2017," and it "did not reveal any apparent signs that could lead [the law enforcement agencies] to foresee [that] he would act."

During the press conference, Molins also revealed that a female accomplice of the attacker has been detained and placed in custody. He added that she is a relative of the assailant, without disclosing any details.
More details on the accomplice(s) arrested by police:
French police have reportedly detained a second person, suspected to be linked to attacker who killed at least 4 and injured over a dozen in southern France on Friday. A source close to the investigation informed local media.

The person detained is a minor, born in 2000. He was arrested overnight and is believed to be a friend of 25-year-old gunman Redouane Lakdim, the source confirmed on Saturday.

On Friday evening police arrested an 18-year-old woman who is also suspected of being linked to the gunman, according to French prosecutor Francois Molins. The woman allegedly "shared a life" with Lakdim, said the prosecutor, who is heading the probe.
The French police officer who offered himself to Lakdim in exchange for the release of a hostage has died from his wounds.
Lieutenant-Colonel Arnaud Beltrame was among the first responders at the hostage-taking scene at the 'Super U' supermarket in the town of Trebes on Friday.

"He volunteered to take the place of the other hostages... He saved lives and honored his colleagues and his country," President Emmanuel Macron said in a televised address. The 45-year-old officer sustained gunshot wounds before the intervention of the GIGN special forces, who neutralized the attacker.


"Lieutenant-Colonel Arnaud Beltrame has left us. He died for his motherland. France will never forget his heroism, bravery and sacrifice," Interior Minister Gerard Collomb wrote on Twitter.
...
According to French media, in 2012 Beltrame was admitted to the National Order of the Legion of Honour, the highest order of merit for both military and civil deeds.