- Reaction score
- 1,943
- Points
- 1,160
Two French paratroopers shot dead on street
By JOHANNA DECORSE, Associated Press
Thursday, March 15, 2012, 10:52 PDT TOULOUSE, France (AP) --
A gunman on a motorbike opened fire on three French paratroopers at a bank machine in southern France, killing two and critically wounding one of them Thursday, officials said. It was the second such attack in a week targeting French soldiers in a public place.
Earlier, the Defense Ministry had issued a statement saying all three paratroopers had died, but a local police official and a Defense Ministry official later said one of them was in critical condition.
The three uniformed soldiers had been standing at a bank machine in the town of Montauban when a helmeted assailant arrived on a motorbike and opened fire, then fled, the police official said.
Defense Minister Gerard Longuet expressed his condolences to the soldiers, their families and their regiment in a statement. They all three served with the 17th paratrooper combat engineering regiment, based nearby.
On Sunday, a 30-year-old soldier was fatally shot near a gymnasium in the southern city of Toulouse by an unidentified attacker.
Neither the defense minister nor police announced any link between the two attacks, and the motives remain unclear.
The police official said the two soldiers killed Thursday were 24 and 26 years old.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2012/03/15/international/i100131D15.DTL#ixzz1pDXzZsIp
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17389013
Two soldiers shot dead in south-west France
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.
By JOHANNA DECORSE, Associated Press
Thursday, March 15, 2012, 10:52 PDT TOULOUSE, France (AP) --
A gunman on a motorbike opened fire on three French paratroopers at a bank machine in southern France, killing two and critically wounding one of them Thursday, officials said. It was the second such attack in a week targeting French soldiers in a public place.
Earlier, the Defense Ministry had issued a statement saying all three paratroopers had died, but a local police official and a Defense Ministry official later said one of them was in critical condition.
The three uniformed soldiers had been standing at a bank machine in the town of Montauban when a helmeted assailant arrived on a motorbike and opened fire, then fled, the police official said.
Defense Minister Gerard Longuet expressed his condolences to the soldiers, their families and their regiment in a statement. They all three served with the 17th paratrooper combat engineering regiment, based nearby.
On Sunday, a 30-year-old soldier was fatally shot near a gymnasium in the southern city of Toulouse by an unidentified attacker.
Neither the defense minister nor police announced any link between the two attacks, and the motives remain unclear.
The police official said the two soldiers killed Thursday were 24 and 26 years old.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2012/03/15/international/i100131D15.DTL#ixzz1pDXzZsIp
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17389013
Two soldiers shot dead in south-west France
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.
