Suspect in hostage situation shot dead by police: Interior Ministry

A gunman burst into a supermarket in southwest France, and took those inside as hostages, said police.

At a press conference in Trebes, Collomb said the suspect first hijacked a car in the southern city of Carcassonne before heading to Trebes.

He then burst into a Super U supermarket in Trebes, near Carcassonne and that's when the national police intervened.

Collomb confirmed the suspect in the hostage situation killed three people: one during the car hijacking and two in the supermarket.

One of the police officers voluntarily substituted himself for one of the hostages and stayed with the hostage-taker. "It was the act of a hero," he said.

Collomb identified the hostage-taker as 26-year-old Redouane Lakdim who was known to police for petty crime but was not considered an Islamist threat.

The minister believes Lakdim acted alone.

The Interior Minister did not confirm the names of the victims.

Speaking at a press conference in Brussels, French President Emmanuel Macron said that he would soon be in Paris to monitor the situation.

Prosecutor sources told AFP that the man had claimed allegiance to ISIL.

SOURCE: euronews
---DECRYPTED---