Deadly end to shooting spree

Trail of terror ends for suspected IS gunman in hostage siege when he is taken down by police at a supermarket in southwest France.

TREBES: A French policeman, who was shot by an extremist gunman after swapping himself for a hostage in a siege at a supermarket in the south-west town of Trebes, has been hailed as a hero.

The policeman was among a group of officers who rushed to the scene after the attacker, who claimed allegiance to the Islamic State group, stormed the store and fired on shoppers and staff before taking them hostage.

The man, identified as 26-yearold Redouane Lakdim, shot dead two people at the supermarket after earlier opening fire on passengers in a car, killing one of them, and injuring a police officer in nearby Carcassonne.

Speaking at the scene Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said a police team immediately intervened after the start of the siege at around 11am.

“They managed to get some of the people out,” he said, but the attacker kept one hostage back as a human shield.

A senior officer then offered to take the hostage’s place and remained holed up with Lakdim while negotiations to end the standoff continued.

The officer “left his telephone on the table”, to allow police that had surrounded the building in the sleepy town of 5,000 inhabitants listen in, Collomb said.

“When we heard shots the GIGN (an elite police force) intervened,” the minister said, adding that the policeman was “seriously injured”.

Collomb praised the officer for his “courage” and “act of heroism”.

An officer from the police SWAT team was also hurt in the operation to kill the gunman.

Over the course of his rampage Ladkim killed three people and injured at least three others.

The injured included the driver of the hijacked car as well as a police officer out jogging with colleagues in Carcassonne.

A witness reported that the assailant was armed with knives, a gun and grenades and shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest) before going into the supermarket.

“A man shouted and started firing several times,” one shopper at the supermarket told FranceInfo radio station.

“I saw an open door for a refrigerated area and I told people to come to shelter there,” she said.

“There were 10 of us and we got out by the exit at the back.”

The killing spree came with France still on high alert after a string of attacks since 2015.

French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to the quick reactions of the emergency services and said he would be returning to Paris from Brussels at the end of an EU summit so he can coordinate the national response.

Three helicopters could be seen circling over Trebes, a picturesque medieval town of around 5,000 people, while heavily armed police had closed down roads surrounding the supermarket.