Two people are dead after a hostage situation in the southern French city of Trebes, according to multiple media reports.
At approximately 11:00 a.m. Friday morning local time, an armed individual penetrated the Super U supermarket in Trebes, near the town of Carcassonne. Gunshots were heard inside and the man was holding hostages, NBC News reported.
A police source has told NBC that the situation is ongoing and that two hostages are now dead. The French Minister of the Interior is to give a press conference in Trebes this afternoon.
Speaking to local media, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said: “All the information that we have leaves us thinking that this is a terrorist attack.”
Speaking in Brussels, the French President Emmanuel Macron has also said the situation appears to be of a terrorist nature and he is to return to Paris this afternoon.
French media also reported that the man has claimed allegiance to Islamic State. And the prosecutor’s office in Paris confirmed that the anti-terror section has officially opened an investigation into the hostage-taking. Charges are reported to involve terrorist association, attempted assassination and sequestering of persons.
The French Interior Ministry has issued a tweet requesting that everyone in the area should follow the instructions of authorities and not pass on unverified information.
