A gunman claiming ties to the Islamic States has taken hostages in France at a Supermarket, on the Southwestern side of the country.
Authorities responded to two separate incidents one at a Grocery and the other just fifteen minutes away in the town of Carcassonne where a policeman was shot.
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.
It is unclear if the two incidents are linked.
Reports have indicated that gunfire was heard coming from the Supermarket which is where a gunman had reportedly taken people hostage, again, according to reports some of the hostages have been injured.
According to Local Media;
Around 11:15 this Friday 23, an armed man has returned to a supermarket Super U in the town of Trèbes not far from Carcassonne, after trying to hit with his car a group of CRS nearby. The individual also opened fire on the CRS and then on the people inside the supermarket. He claimed his membership of the Islamic State according to the prosecution.
Update at 12:48 pm: According to Sud-Ouest , the assailant would be armed with knives of a handgun and grenades. This information has not been officially confirmed. LCI, quoting the mayor of the commune, announces that the dead are a store employee as well as a customer.
Update at 12.37: Authorities confirm that the two wounded by bullets are ” presumed dead .” General Jean-Valéry Letterman specifies however that it is necessary to wait for a medical confirmation impossible to implement as the operation is in progress and the unsecured places. According to information from LCI, there are also 12 injuries.
BREAKING: Police union official says a hostage-taker has killed at least one person inside a supermarket in southern France.
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 23, 2018
Here’s everything we know so far about the ongoing situation in Trebes, France pic.twitter.com/BkU9yCNeTI
— Sky News (@SkyNews) March 23, 2018
The mayor of Trebes says a hostage-taker is alone with a police officer in a supermarket and all other hostages have been freed
— Sky News Breaking (@SkyNewsBreak) March 23, 2018