A SUSPECTED ISIS gunman was shot dead by cops after killing three and injuring a dozen others in a gun rampage and supermarket hostage attack.
The attacker, named by police as 26-year-old Redouane Lakdim, was killed in a hail of bullets after anti-terror cops stormed the Super U store in Trebes, south-east of Toulouse.
Armed with a gun, knives and a grenade, the extremist had earlier hijacked a car, shot its passenger in the head and fired at jogging police officers in nearby Carcassonne.
Lakdim, who was jailed on drug charges in 2016, then drove the stolen car to the supermarket in Trebes where he killed a butcher and shopper before talking as many as 20 others hostage.
Lakdim pledged allegiance to Syria and allegedly screamed "Vengeance for Syria!" during the attack and later demanded the release of Paris attacker Salah Abdeslam.
The police brought the hostage taker's mother, who lives in Carcassonne, to the superstore to persuade him to come out.
What we know about the attack so far
- At least three were killed and 12 injured in the supermarket siege in town of Trebes
- Gunman was named as Redouane Lakdim, who was arrested on drug charges in 2016
- He began his rampage by firing at a group of jogging policemen in Carcassonne
- After the shooting, Lakdim drove to the Super U store around two miles away
- There he killed a butcher and shopper, wounded at least 12, took several hostages
- He pledged allegiance to ISIS, demanded the release of Paris attacker Salah Abdeslam
- Police surrounded the market and brought in Lakdim's mother to persuade him to stop
- Cops then laid siege to the supermarket and killed Lakdim, who is from Carcassonne
- Reports claim Lakdim dropped his little sister off at school before the attack
"She's gone to talk to him – to try and get him to drop his weapons, and give up," said a source at the scene. "His sister is there too."
Chilling reports claim the killer dropped his little sister off at school before launching the terrifying attack in the British expat haven of Carcassonne.
Lakdim, who lived with his mother and four sisters at a council estate in Carcassonne, was known to the Directorate General of Homeland Security (DGSI), a police source told Le Parisien.
He is understood to have been "very active" on online jihadi forums and was subject to an S-file, which means the intelligence services considered him a security threat.
His neighbour described him as "calm and nice", adding that he would visit the local Mosque regularly.
Lakdim is understood to have fired six shots at off-duty police officers while they were jogging, leaving one with life-threatening injuries after shooting him in the shoulder.
The attacker then stormed the Super U store and shot a store worker, understood to be a butcher, in the head.
He released seven hostages, leaving just him and another cop inside. France 24 reported a military officer traded himself for a hostage.
Mayor Eric Menassi told LCI TV: "The man entered the shop screaming "Allahu Akbar (God is greatest), I'll kill you all."
Carole, who was shopping at the supermarket, described how terrified shoppers sought refuge inside a freezer.
"A man shouted and fired several times. I saw a cold room door, I asked people to come and take shelter," she told Franceinfo radio.
"We were ten, and we stayed an hour. There were more gunshots and we went out the back door."
The shooter demanded the release of Abdeslam, who is on trial for attempted murder and possession of weapons over the 2015 Paris attacks in which 130 were murdered.
Mayor Menassi confirmed the attack and said seven hostages have since been released, leaving the gunman alone in the supermarket with another police officer.
A local from Carcassonne told Sun Online how the sound of gunfire tore through the streets near his home.
He added: "Two cars towed, one dark blue vehicle with back window shot through and another white car."
AFP reported that ISIS took responsibility for the attack but the weakened terror group often does this as a propaganda tool, even when it is not associated with an incident.
There were initially conflicting reports amid the chaos of the shooting, with L'independent claiming two men shot at the cops from inside a car.
It claims one of the Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité officers was rushed to hospital after taking a bullet in the shoulder.
The cops who were shot at - all part of the CRS 57 unit based at Carcassonne - were off duty when they were attacked around two miles from the supermarket.
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said the situation was "very serious" and Interior Minister Gerard Collomb is heading to the site.
Trebes is in an area hugely popular with British second home owners, expats, and holidaymakers.
The shooting comes more than four years after a night of terror in Paris, when ISIS gunmen slaughtered 130 in coordinated attacks across the capital.
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