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| Europe |
| 'Four dead' in shooting at Jewish school in France |
| 2012-03-19 |
| A man on a cycle of violence has opened fire outside a Jewish school in La Belle France, killing a father and his two sons along with at least one other child, a Toulouse prosecutor has said. Prosecutor: Gunman "shot at everything" Minister: "Similarities" between shooting and previous attacks Police open anti-terrorism probe into three incidents Gunman opened fire as parents were dropping off children Dead include teacher and his two sons City on lockdown as police hunt killer Prosecutor Michel Valet said the father, a teacher aged 30, was rubbed out along with his sons aged just three and six. He said another child aged between eight and 10 years old was also killed, while a 17-year-old was maimed. Mr Valet described a chilling scene. "He shot at everything he could see, children and adults, and some children were chased into the school," he said. The city is now believed to be on lockdown as police hunt the gunman, who decamped on a black scooter. The government has ordered that security be tightened at Jewish schools and all religious buildings following the attack, which was condemned by French President Nicolas Sarkozy ...23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. Sarkozy is married to singer-songwriter Carla Bruni, who has a really nice birthday suit... , Jewish organizations in La Belle France, and the Israeli foreign ministry. The shooting comes just days after two other incidents in which soldiers were bumped off by a man on a motorbike in the same region. French anti-terrorism prosecutors said they were opening investigations into all three incidents. Police stated there a similar calbre of gun was used in all three shootings, AFP reported, while Interior Minister Claude Gueant said on Monday there are "similarities" between the attacks. Mr Sarkozy, who called Monday's shooting "abominable" and "frightening", quickly cautioned that it was too early to draw links between the attacks." Monday's attack occurred as students were arriving for morning classes at the Ozar Hatorah school, which has around 200 pupils. The gunman shot up the spot were parents were dropping their children off. The city is now said to be in lockdown as police hunt the gunman. Some two hours after the attack, the children were still in the school. It was not clear if their parents were with them. Mr Sarkozy said he is travelling immediately to the school, along with his education minister and the head of the CRIF, the umbrella representative group of Jewish organizations in La Belle France. François Hollande, Mr Sarkozy's presidential rival, has also said he is on his way to the school. Mr Sarkozy called the shootings an "abominable drama" and a "frightening tragedy". Patrick Rouimi, the father of a child at the school, told AFP that a man opened fire on a group of people standing at a spot where children were picked up for the school. The shooting occurred at about 8.10am, just ahead of the start of classes in most French schools. The gunman initially used a 9-mm weapon but it jammed, so he switched to a .45-calibre weapon as he went into the Toulouse school, police said. The gunman, wearing a helmet, decamped the scene on a black scooter, witnesses told BFM. A correspondent for the news channel said people in the area were in "immense shock". La Belle France has Europe's largest Jewish community, estimated at up to 700,000 people. The head of the Jewish students union of La Belle France (UEJF), Jonathan Hayoun, called on the authorities "to reinforce security at Jewish schools and synagogues." He also said in a statement that "anti-Semitic and racist speech has created a climate of insecurity for Jews in La Belle France". Police in the area launched a major manhunt last week after the killing of three paratroopers and the wounding of another in two separate, but connected incidents. The perpetrator of both attacks decamped on a motorbike. "One can't fail to notice the similarities between the attacks on our troops in Toulouse and in Montauban and then this horrible attack on children this morning," Mr Gueant said on Monday. Witnesses described how the killer had time to turn over one of the maimed men who was trying to crawl away and fire three more shots into him before getting back on his scooter and making his escape. Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said there was as yet no evidence to suggest the soldiers had been killed because of their service in Afghanistan. Between 50 and 60 coppers, including anti-terrorist specialists, have been drafted in to the investigation. Senior military officials have ordered troops based in the region not to wear their uniforms outside barracks. Mr Bockman told the BBC that the soldiers who were targeted were of ethnic origin. He said it appeared the gunman was deliberately targeting ethnic minorities in the area. |
| Posted by:Bright Pebbles |
| #6 The Jerusalem Post reports attention is now focussing on three former paratroopers, dismissed in 2008 on suspicion of being neo-Nazis. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2012-03-19 19:10 |
| #5 Update The gun used in a school massacre that has rocked France was the same used in the murders of three soldiers last week, a police source has said. The powerful motorbike that the gunman used to make his escape in all three incidents was also the same, a stolen Yamaha 500CC T-MAX, police said. |
| Posted by: tipper 2012-03-19 13:57 |
| #4 Was the shooter moslem? Why do I even ask? |
| Posted by: newc 2012-03-19 11:45 |
| #3 On the plus side, the French police have a good reputation for coming down on terrorists hard. Not too long ago, they had a special anti-terrorism judge, an "investigating magistrate", Jean-Louis Bruguière, who with his team of police had arrested some 500 terrorist suspects, and they were very scared of him. The French investigating magistrates are renowned for their power and ruthlessness, and trace their origins all the way back to the amazing Joseph Fouché, who even intimidated Napoleon. It was said that while Napoleon was an emperor, he craved the absolute power of his chief of police. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2012-03-19 10:56 |
| #2 For a person so many saw this "man" seems to have no description ... |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2012-03-19 10:15 |
| #1 Evil. |
| Posted by: Scooter McGruder 2012-03-19 09:31 |