IS fanatic kills 3
AN ISLAMIC State fanatic known to French security services executed three people yesterday before being gunned down by special forces police.
A gendarme was last night fighting for life in hospital and 16 others were injured in the killing spree.
Gunman Redouane Lakdim, 26, started his slaughter at 10am after hijacking a car in the south-western town of Carcassonne.
He killed a passenger with a bullet to the head and wounded the driver.
He then targeted off-duty officers from the CRS – the Republican Security Companies – which specialises in riot control.
Driving alongside the four as they were out jogging, he opened fire.
An investigation source said: “He fired at least five bullets and caught one officer on the shoulder, shattering it. The other officers tried to give chase.”
Notorious
Fifteen minutes later, Lakdim pulled up in the car park of a U-Supermarket, five miles away in Trebes.
Inside, he opened fire on staff and shoppers, killing two and wounding others. “He ran inside and immediately killed a butcher, as well as a shopper,” said the source.
“The gunman was heard shouting slogans about the war in Syria.
“He said he was a soldier of Islamic State.”
Mayor of Trebes Eric Menassi said Lakdim shouted “Allahu Akbar” – Arabic for God is the greatest – and “I’ll kill you all”.
Some shoppers and staff escaped or hid, while others were taken hostage by Lakdim.
A shopper called Carole said she persuaded others to run and hide with her in a freezer room.
She said: “A man shouted and fired several times.
“I saw a cold room door. I asked people to come and take shelter. There were 10 of us and we stayed an hour.
“There were more gunshots and we went out the back door.”
It later emerged the critically injured gendarme had volunteered to swap himself for a hostage.
The 45-year old lieutenant-colonel was hailed a hero after his attempt to negotiate with the terrorist.
It was not clear how he was wounded during the terror.
As police surrounded the supermarket, the extremist demanded notorious Belgian-born terrorist Salah Abdeslam be freed from prison.
Abdeslam, 28, and of Moroccan descent, is in custody in France and the only surviving member of the group that carried out the 2015 Paris terror attacks that killed 130 people.
Some hostages were released from the supermarket shortly after 12.30pm but Lakdim remained inside and began to brandish grenades.
At the height of the siege, police brought Lakdim’s mother to the store