Trump denounces ‘horrible’ terror attack in France
US president tweets support for victims of jihadist shooting spree that claimed 4 lives, including a heroic policeman who offered himself as a hostage
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US President Donald Trump on Saturday denounced an Islamist attack in France that claimed four lives, including that of a policeman hailed as a hero.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of the horrible attack in France yesterday, and we grieve the nation’s loss,” Trump tweeted.
“We also condemn the violent actions of the attacker and anyone who would provide him support. We are with you @EmmanuelMacron!”
A gunman claiming allegiance to the Islamic State group on Friday hijacked a car in Carcassonne, southwestern France, and shot the two people inside. The passenger was killed and the Portuguese driver was left in critical condition.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of the horrible attack in France yesterday, and we grieve the nation’s loss. We also condemn the violent actions of the attacker and anyone who would provide him support. We are with you @EmmanuelMacron!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 24, 2018
He also shot and wounded a police officer out jogging.
In the nearby town of Trebes the gunman, Radouane Lakdim, 25, then holed up in a supermarket where he killed the supermarket’s butcher and a customer.
Police Lieutenant-Colonel Arnaud Beltrame, 45, took the place of a woman whom the gunman had been using as a human shield, but he shot and stabbed the officer, who died early Saturday from his wounds.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Beltrame “died a hero.”
On Saturday, police searched Lakdim’s home and found what a judicial official said were notes “that alluded to the Islamic State and appeared like a last testament.” They also found a computer and telephone that will be examined for information. The official wasn’t authorized to speak publicly amid an investigation.
Investigators also found three homemade explosive devices, a handgun, and a hunting knife inside the supermarket, the official said. The weapons suggested his intent to do further damage.
Two people were detained for alleged links to a terrorist enterprise, one woman close to Lakdim and a 17-year-old male friend of his, the Paris prosecutor’s office said.
In addition to the four people killed by the gunman in his rampage Friday, the attacker was killed by police. Fifteen others were injured.
The Times of Israel Community.