Gunman Shot Dead After He Killed Three People in France

Photo from unn.com.ua website

A gunman killed three people in southwestern France on Friday and injured 12, Reuters reported.

He held up a car, fired on police and seized hostages in a supermarket in Trebes, before security forces stormed into the building and shot him dead, authorities said. Officials have confirmed the death of the gunman on Twitter. The standoff between the police and the gunman took more than three hours.

The Telegraph reported that the gunman was identified as 26-year-old Redouane Lakdim, a petty criminal of Moroccan origin who claimed allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

More than 240 people have been killed in France in attacks since 2015 by assailants who pledged allegiance to ISIL or were inspired by the group.

The gunman called for the release of  Salah Abdelsalam, who is the prime suspect of the terrorist attacks in Paris, in November 2015, which left 130 people dead, franceinfo reported.

Witnesses said that about 20 people in the supermarket found refuge in the cold storage room.

A French policeman, Arnaud Beltrame, was shot by the gunman when he swapped himself for a hostage. He was severly injured after the incident, but Gérard Collomb, the interior minister, announced early on Saturday that Beltrame had passed away after he was reportedly hit by several bullets and one injury to the throat.