Carcassonne and Trèbes attack

On 23 March 2018, there was a series of Islamist terrorist attacks in the towns of Carcassonne and Trèbes in southern France. Redouane Lakdim, a 25-year-old French-Moroccan (born 11 April 1992 in Taza, Morocco), shot the two occupants of a car in Carcassonne, killing the passenger and hijacking it. He then opened fire on four police officers, seriously wounding one. Lakdim drove to nearby Trèbes, where he stormed a Super U supermarket, killing two civilians, wounding others, and taking at least one hostage. He swore allegiance to the Islamic State and demanded the release of Salah Abdeslam, the only surviving suspect of the November 2015 Paris attacks.

A senior gendarmerie officer, Lieutenant Colonel Arnaud Beltrame, voluntarily swapped places with a hostage. After a three-hour stand-off, Lakdim shot and fatally stabbed Beltrame. A police tactical unit immediately stormed the building and killed Lakdim. He was named a "soldier of the Islamic State" by the Amaq News Agency, and the President of France called the attacks an act of Islamist terrorism. Five people were killed in the attacks, including the perpetrator, and fifteen were wounded.

Events

Carcassonne attacks

Shortly before 10 a.m. (9 a.m. UTC) on Friday 23 March 2018, Redouane Lakdim, armed with a handgun, stopped a car on the outskirts of Carcassonne that was occupied by Renato Silva, of Portugal, and Jean Mazières. Lakdim shot both occupants, killing Mazières and critically injuring Silva, then stole the car and drove off. He appeared to wait outside a military barracks for soldiers, but then drove to a police barracks and attacked four police officers as they were jogging back to their barracks by shooting at and trying to run them over. One of the officers was shot, but the bullet narrowly missed his heart and instead broke a few ribs and punctured a lung. Lakdim then sped off and drove to Trèbes.

Trèbes hostage crisis

At around 11 a.m. Lakdim entered the Super U supermarket in Trèbes armed with a handgun, a hunting knife and three homemade bombs. There were about fifty people inside. He shouted " ''Allahu akbar''", and declared he was a soldier of Islamic State and that he was willing to "die for Syria". He shot dead two people—a supermarket worker and a customer—and took others hostage, ordering everyone to lie on the ground. Most of those in the supermarket managed to flee and some hid in a cold store. Hundreds of police and gendarmerie quickly arrived, cordoned off the area and helped to evacuate people. They found Lakdim holding several hostages, including a woman whom he used as a human shield. A GIGN unit assembled near the supermarket and Interior Minister Gérard Collomb arrived. Lakdim demanded the release of Salah Abdeslam, a primary suspect in the November 2015 Paris attacks. During the standoff, he briefly came out of the supermarket, threatening to "blow everything up". Police brought Lakdim's mother and two sisters to negotiate, unsuccessfully.

Police negotiated with Lakdim to release the hostages, and Arnaud Beltrame, a 44-year-old lieutenant colonel in the National Gendarmerie, offered to take the place of the final, female hostage, and Lakdim agreed. Beltrame set his mobile phone on a table inside with the phone line open, so the police outside could listen in. After a three-hour stand-off, Beltrame tried to disarm Lakdim and shouted "Assault! Assault!" loud enough to be heard through the phone. As a result, Beltrame was shot three or four times and fatally stabbed, while GIGN operatives immediately stormed the supermarket at 2:40 p.m. and exchanged gunfire with the assailant, killing him two minutes later. Two of the operatives were wounded. Shortly after, police dogs went into the building, and an ambulance and helicopter arrived in the car park. Beltrame was praised by Interior Minister Collomb and others for his heroism, but later died in hospital of his injuries. Autopsies found that Beltrame died from stab wounds to the throat.

Suspect

The suspect was identified as Redouane Lakdim, a 25-year-old French-Moroccan man who was born in Morocco. He lived in Carcassonne with his parents and sisters, and regularly attended the Carcassonne mosque. He had been convicted twice for petty crimes, and had served one month in prison in 2016. Lakdim was very active on Salafist social networks and had been on a watchlist of suspected Islamist extremists since 2014. He was a small time drug dealer. He had been under surveillance for his "radicalism and proximity to Salafist movements" but had showed no signs he was going to carry out an attack. After his death in Trèbes, police raided his home as well as those of his friends and relatives and interviewed neighbours, one of whom described him as a "pleasant young man". Interior Minister Gérard Collomb believes he acted alone. A search of his home found notes referring to Islamic State, in what appeared to be a will. His girlfriend was known to French security services.

Aftermath

Renato Silva survived being shot in the head by Lakdim before having his car stolen, and was taken to Perpignan where he went into a coma. On 4 April, he came out of the coma but could not walk unassisted and suffered partial paralysis in the face and deafness in one ear. Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa visited Silva in hospital. He was released on 23 March and returned to his home in Villemoustaussou, Aude.

On 19 October 2018, three persons were indicted by French authorities in connection to Lakdim's actions.

Reactions

French Minister of the Interior Gérard Collomb, who was briefed on the situation in Trèbes from Saint-Cyr-au-Mont-d'Or

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