Toulouse, France:
French police stormed a bank in Toulouse on Wednesday, arresting a gunman, allegedly suffering with psychiatric problems, who claimed to be an Al-Qaeda militant. The police managed to free two hostages after a seven-hour siege.
The 26-year-old, who had taken four bank employees hostage in the morning in the same area where serial killer Mohamed Merah lived and was shot dead by police in March, was wounded in the assault, police sources said.
The two other hostages, both women, had been released earlier, and no police officers were injured in the operation, which took place at 4:45 pm local time (2015 IST), police said.
Police shot the man as he was trying to exit the bank holding one of the hostages and waving his gun.
He was wounded and returned inside, where he was apprehended.
The gunman, identified as Fethi Boumaza, was wounded in the left hand and right thigh, local prosecutor Michel Valet said, adding that while his injuries were "significant", his life was not in danger.
The locations of the wounds "show that the police were looking to neutralise, to protect the hostages, and not for one second to kill" the suspect, he said.
Nearly seven hours earlier the man had entered CIC bank, demanding money. then fired a shot and taken the bank manager and other staff hostage, saying he wanted to negotiate with the elite RAID police unit that killed Merah.
Valet said the gunman had claimed to act based on his religious beliefs but had seemed confused.
"These were poorly defined and poorly expressed religious claims," he said. "We are dealing with someone who suffers from significant mental problems."
Police said the gunman had a criminal record and an informed source said he was schizophrenic and "may have stopped his treatment".
He was "put in a foster home when he was little and suffers from rage and fears the outside world," his sister told AFP over the telephone.
She said he was not very religious, adding: "We went to nightclubs and drank alcohol."
He entered the bank at around 10:00 am and insistently asked for money but staff did not take him seriously, police told AFP. He then produced a gun and took everyone hostage.
The 26-year-old, who had taken four bank employees hostage in the morning in the same area where serial killer Mohamed Merah lived and was shot dead by police in March, was wounded in the assault, police sources said.
The two other hostages, both women, had been released earlier, and no police officers were injured in the operation, which took place at 4:45 pm local time (2015 IST), police said.
Police shot the man as he was trying to exit the bank holding one of the hostages and waving his gun.
He was wounded and returned inside, where he was apprehended.
The gunman, identified as Fethi Boumaza, was wounded in the left hand and right thigh, local prosecutor Michel Valet said, adding that while his injuries were "significant", his life was not in danger.
The locations of the wounds "show that the police were looking to neutralise, to protect the hostages, and not for one second to kill" the suspect, he said.
Nearly seven hours earlier the man had entered CIC bank, demanding money. then fired a shot and taken the bank manager and other staff hostage, saying he wanted to negotiate with the elite RAID police unit that killed Merah.
Valet said the gunman had claimed to act based on his religious beliefs but had seemed confused.
"These were poorly defined and poorly expressed religious claims," he said. "We are dealing with someone who suffers from significant mental problems."
Police said the gunman had a criminal record and an informed source said he was schizophrenic and "may have stopped his treatment".
He was "put in a foster home when he was little and suffers from rage and fears the outside world," his sister told AFP over the telephone.
She said he was not very religious, adding: "We went to nightclubs and drank alcohol."
He entered the bank at around 10:00 am and insistently asked for money but staff did not take him seriously, police told AFP. He then produced a gun and took everyone hostage.
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