A SUSPECTED ISIS gunman has killed two and wounded a dozen others as he took eight hostages at a French supermarket, according to police.
The attacker, who screamed “Vengeance for Syria!” before shooting at cops in Trebes, south-east of Toulouse, also demanded the release of Paris attacker Salah Abdeslam.
The shooter is believed to be holed up in a Super U store in Trèbes, near Carcassonne
He is understood to have fired six shots at a group of police officers who were jogging down the street, hitting one in the shoulder, leaving him in a life-threatening condition.
The attacker then stormed the Super U store in a suspected terror attack and killed a store worker who is understood to be a butcher. He released seven hostages, leaving just him and another cop inside.
“A butcher in the U-Supermarket has been shot dead,” according an unnamed source in the town.
The man entered the shop screaming “Allahu Akbar (God is greatest), I’ll kill you all”, Mayor Eric Menassi told LCI TV.
A man is reported to have yelled ‘vengeance for Syria’ before shooting a cop and killing a butcher in France
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.
French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe says all information suggests the incident “seems to be a terrorist act”.
French Interior Ministry earlier confirmed an operation was underway at the supermarket but gave no further details on reports of a hostage situation.
The shooter is reported to have demanded the release of Paris attacker Salah Abdeslam
AFP has 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.
The attacker fired six shots at cops before taking hostages at a supermarket in Trebes, southern France
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.
