Two people have been killed in the ongoing suspected terror attack in Trebes in the south of France, national police have confirmed to The Independent.
One police officer and one woman are also confirmed to be injured after a gunman claiming allegiance to Isis took up to eight hostages in a supermarket in southern France.
The attacker, named Redouane Lakdim and from Carcassonne in southern France, struck at the Super U shop in Trèbes, near Toulouse, on Friday morning. Officers later stormed the supermarket and killed the suspect.
The attacker killed one person by shooting them in the head before taking others hostage, according to officials. Special police units were sent to the scene and local authorities blocked roads and urged residents to stay away.
Earlier, a policeman was shot and wounded while jogging with colleagues in Carcassonne, a 15-minute drive away, by the same suspect, the secretary-general of the SGP Police-FO union told the Associated Press.
France's Interior Minister Gerard Collomb told Liberation at least two people had been killed and three others were injured, including one very seriously. He added that the death toll was “only temporary” and “could unfortunately grow”.
The injured police officer, named only as CRS 57, was shot in the lung 3cm from his heart, according to the local police union, who said he was in a “steady state”. Mr Collomb said he had swapped himself for a hostage.
AFP reported the gunman had claimed allegiance to Isis and French prime minister Edouard Philippe said "all information suggests it is a terror attack".
French media has reported that the gunman and hostage-taker is of Moroccan descent and was known to authorities. Officials said the attacker was known to the authorities for petty crimes and was not considered an Islamist threat.
Reports suggest he asked for the release of Salah Abdeslam, the man accused of playing a role in the Paris attack who is on trial in Belgium at the moment, during the hostage.
Isis has said it carried out the attack but gave no evidence for its claim.
A supermarket customer who was in the shop at the time told France Info: "A man cried and fired a lot of gunshots. I saw a fridge door, I told people to come find shelter.
"There were 10 of us and we stayed there for one hour. There were more gunshots and we left by the back exit. He shouted Allah something, I didn’t see him.”
Children in the area are being held in schools "until further notice". The Academy of Montpellier said a meal would be served for them and asked that parents remained at home.
The Paris prosecutor's office said counterterrorism investigators were taking over the probe but did not provide details about why.
The Interior Minister headed for the scene after talking with French President Emmanuel Macron, who is following the situation closely, according to a security official.
France has been on high alert since a string of Islamic extremist attacks in 2015 and 2016 that killed more than 200 people.
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