Two soldiers shot dead in south-west France

Crusader74

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17389013


Two soldiers have been killed and a third wounded by a gunman on a scooter who opened fire near a military base at Montauban in southern France.
Earlier reports said all three had died. Police said the soldiers were withdrawing cash, but theft did not appear to be the motive.
The attacker, wearing a helmet with a visor, sped off after opening fire.
The attack took place near a military base housing the country's 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment.
Some 15 spent cartridges were found at the scene, police said.
"The theft was not the motive of the murders," a police official in Montauban told the BBC, adding that all avenues of inquiry were currently open.
He described a potential link between Thursday's shootings and the gunning down of another soldier in Toulouse on Sunday as "a possibility, not a certainty".
The two soldiers who died were aged 24 and 26 and the third, aged 28, is in hospital. French media reports quoting officials earlier said that the third soldier had died from his injuries, but the defence ministry and police later said he remained in a critical condition.
France's Defence Minister, Gerard Longuet, issued a statement expressing his "deepest sorrow at the assassination of the two soldiers, and the wounding of a third".
He said he had every confidence that the police would ensure justice was achieved in the case.
A large number of police officers are already involved in an extensive search for the gunman and prosecutors have said that they are considering a number of possibilities, including that the shooting was the result of a personal dispute.
The incident follows another shooting, on Sunday, when a 30-year-old soldier was shot dead by an assailant on a motorcycle in a residential area of Toulouse, 29 miles (46km) south of Montauban.
The south-west of the country is home to all of France's elite airborne units.
 
I doubt the FrenchArmy will take this lying down.

I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if this was muslim terror related, though simple gang violence would be on the cards too.

Where's Rapid?
 
The investigators aren't ruling anything out, including terrorism. In both incidents, he targeted paratroopers. All four targets were ethnic minorities as well, so there's always the unfortunate possibility that this was racially motivated. Perhaps even a former/current soldier who can't stand Arabs or Blacks being in 'his' army -- sad, but we all know those kind of people exist. He hasn't left behind much evidence either. Just one mag on the ground, with the fingerprints wiped off. The racial thing could just be a coincidence though... we'll find out eventually, hopefully if he's caught.

Whoever he is, whatever's motivating him, I just hope they catch this fucker before he does any more damage. I know some of the people who are ready to move in as soon as they find him (the equivalent of the FBI HRT). There's a shitstorm coming his way.

Edit: if they catch him alive, I'd love to see him thrown to 2 REP to do with as they please.
 
Unfortunately, it looks like he may have striked again. This time he shot three children and a teacher in front of a Jewish school. Apparently he opened fire on anything that moved and even chased the children inside the school. Once again, the targets were of ethnic (North African) origin. It's hard to not see the similarities, as this shooter also made his getaway on a scooter like in the two previous shootings, and one of his weapons was of the same calibre, but they are still working on making a 100% link. I think a lot of people have already made up their minds though, as the similarities and coincidences are quite obvious...
 
Yeah, turns out this was another act motivated by the religion of peace.

Counter-terrorism units have surrounded him. A couple of officers were injured when he opened fire on them as they were approaching his flat.

He says he'll surrender 'in the afternoon'... and why would he do that? My theory is that he wants to upload the helmetcam footage he's taken of the attacks.

Last night he called the director of a major news network to explain his actions and said that the footage would be 'up on the net' soon.

I hope they decide to move in on him before he gets a chance to upload the videos.
 
Wow!

All of USA media was reporting this was the work of a *DUN DUN DUN* Right Wing Extremist, as the usual first instinct.
 
Apparently got him after a 3am raid. I hope he wasn't injured in the raid... :-"

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012/03/21/france-shooting-suspects.html

Unfortunately, they didn't get him yet (see my previous post). They're still at a stand-off hoping he'll give himself up 'this afternoon', as he said. Any attempts to move in closer were met with gunfire. They could very easily overwhelm him (the guys down there are highly professional) but they want him alive to stand trial, so they're still playing this out to see if he'll surrender. I think he's bluffing though.
 
Unfortunately, they didn't get him yet (see my previous post). They're still at a stand-off hoping he'll give himself up 'this afternoon', as he said. Any attempts to move in closer were met with gunfire. They could very easily overwhelm him (the guys down there are highly professional) but they want him alive to stand trial, so they're still playing this out to see if he'll surrender. I think he's bluffing though.


Ahh, I thought the news report here was an update since your last post. I hope they get him, weather in flex cuffs or a body bag.
 
Ahh, I thought the news report here was an update since your last post. I hope they get him, weather in flex cuffs or a body bag.

Yeah, there were reports that he had been arrested but they were just rumours which were spread around for a bit before the police denied it. If he comes out in a bodybag it certainly won't be a loss.
 
If he's really one of those guys that dug themselves out of a certain prison, I'm betting he won't be giving himself up. The only way they'll take him alive is with some kind of extraordinary tactic. Of course they were able to take one of the guys in Mumbai alive, so who knows.
 
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