A police union official says a suspect has fatally shot one person and seriously wounded another inside a supermarket in the southern French town of Trebes.
Yves Lefebvre, secretary general of the SGP Police-FO union, said the suspect earlier fired six shots at police officers who were on their way back from jogging near the city of Carcassonne Friday morning. One police officer was injured in the shoulder but is not in life-threatening condition, Lefebvre said
The police officers, based in the southern city of Marseille, were on a temporary mission in Carcassonne, he said.
Earlier, authorities reported that the gunman had been surrounded at the supermarket and might have taken hostages. A French counterterrorism prosecutor took charge of the investigation.
There are unconfirmed media reports that the assailant claimed connections to the Islamic State group.
Interior Minister spokesman Frederic Delanouvelle told The Associated Press that there is one suspect and police are trying to subdue him. He provided no details of how many people were inside the supermarket or were believed held hostage.
Authorities in the Aude region are warning people to avoid the area around the supermarket.
4:50 a.m.: Updated with one dead in the market.
4:35 a.m.: Updated with information from Delanouvelle.
This article was first published at 4:15 a.m.
