Four dead in French school shooting

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A teacher and three children have been shot dead outside a Jewish school in southwestern France, witnesses say, in the third gun attack in a week by a man who fled on a motorbike.

Interior Minister Claude Gueant has ordered security to be tightened around all Jewish schools in France after the attack at Ozar Hatorah school in Toulouse.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Monday he was travelling immediately to a Jewish school in the southwestern city of Toulouse where three people were killed in a shooting.

Sarkozy said in a statement he would be accompanied by his education minister and the head of the CRIF, the umbrella representative group of Jewish organisations in France.

Israel's foreign ministry declared itself "horrified" by the attack.

"We are horrified by this attack and we trust the French authorities to shed full light on this tragedy and bring the perpetrators of these murders to justice," Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said.

Patrick Rouimi, the father of a child at the school, said that a man opened fire on a group of people standing at a spot where children were picked up for school.

The daughter of the school's director was seriously injured in the attack, said Charles Ben Semoun, a parent of another child in the school.

Police in southwestern France launched a major manhunt last week after the killing of three paratroopers and the wounding of another in two separate, but connected incidents.

The perpetrator of both attacks fled on a motorbike.

Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said there was as yet no evidence to suggest the soldiers had been killed because of their service in Afghanistan.

Between 50 and 60 police officers, including anti-terrorist specialists, have been drafted in to the investigation.

Senior military officials have ordered troops based in the region not to wear their uniforms outside barracks.

But the first victim, a 30-year-old non-commissioned officer, was dressed in civilian clothes when he was shot dead in the street at point-blank range last Sunday March 11.

The gunman, clad in a black motorcycle outfit and wearing a helmet with a visor, escaped on a powerful scooter.

On Thursday three more paratroopers, based this time in Montauban, 46 kilometres away, were shot while standing at a cash machine outside their barracks.

Police forensics experts said on Friday the same pistol was used in both attacks.

Two of Thursday's victims - sappers from 17th Parachute Engineering Regiment (RGP) aged 26 and 24 - died on the spot. The third man, a 28-year-old from the same regiment was left in a critical condition with spinal injuries.

Witnesses saw a black-clad motorcyclist walk up to the men, who were in uniform but unarmed, and open fire at point blank range.

Witnesses described how the killer had time to turn over one of the wounded men who was trying to crawl away and fire three more shots into him before getting back on his scooter and making his escape.

The increased security measures apply to a whole swathe of the southwest, including Toulouse, Montauban, Pamiers and Tarbes, towns and cities that are home to most of France’s elite airborne units.

Gueant was due to arrive in Toulouse later in the morning, officials said.

AFP

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Original piece is http://www.theage.com.au/world/four-dead-in-french-school-shooting-20120319-1vfow.html

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4.06 pm 20/3/12 Murder of Jews!! Four dead in school shooting - what: no mention in headline of "killed / murdered by terrorists"?? You could have used the dozens of euphemisms you ages ago the left artlessly created. Worse: why the passive "dead"? They did not drop dead, sub editor!! There have been over 18,605 acts of terror committed by Muslims since 9/11. [Often against fellow Muslims.] Compared to a mere handful of acts of terror by "apostates." http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/ Most of the media; AKA The Age - and ABC [The World Today 20/12] and others have such difficulty accepting that there is a major corrolation: Muslims and terrorism! The Age 19/3 Four dead in school shooting ABC RADIOTODAY: Three children, teacher shot dead [TWT] Why such manifest difficulty accepting that there is a major corrolation: Muslims and terrorism! By a factor of 3000 to one! It is actually worse than that - because a majority of Muslims celebrate acts of terrorism against apostates! So, we have The Age 19/3 Four dead in school shooting Why - you even report that the French authorities suggest there is no ""evidence so far of any form of terrorism"" Really? Murdering children / chasing them in the classroom - shooting them at point blank range - no evidence?? Have you no heart? Or what other major faculty do you plainly also lack: numeracy? logistics, demograhics or a dynamic journalist"s brain? Maybe. But you plainly lack style or worse as well! Sickening: mere children.... Furthermore - the mass - murderers are informed - they would have noted that the original killers of paratroopers also used scooters. So what better than to create an alleged commonality, an ameliorative of sorts, by also using "scooters."? Not rocket science. The police analysis is infantile possibly. It is however arguably irrelevant and irrational anyway: what they tried to imply - combatants one day terrorist killers of children the next? . Shame on ye all attempting to cheapen Jewish blood. And I tell you - never again - you so - called journalists and sub - editors - never again will you be allowed to get way with it!! http://www.snopes.com/photos/politics/muslimprotest.asp Geoff Seidner 13 Alston Grove East St Kilda 3183 03 9525 9299

Posted by Geoff Seidner on 2012-03-20 05:25:01 GMT

I believe that instead of studying so much Torah and Talmud and hope por Mossiach to pull their chestnuts out of the fire, European Jews in general and French Jews in particular, better start learning personal defence and fire arms training, because I wouldn"t trust as far as I can throw them, any of their police organizations to do a damn thing on their behalf France proved "ad nauseam" it was unable to cope with Muslim terror when all those automobile burnings happened some time ago in Paris and other towns...

Posted by jacob mandelblum on 2012-03-19 23:26:01 GMT

Well said Ilana !

Posted by Adam Neira on 2012-03-19 19:46:29 GMT

B"H We have to be extremely vigilent where there are children and other places where Jewish people congregate nowadays. The gutless creeps that do this sort of thing have no morals, no conscience and no compassion for anything or anyone. We are truly living in a dangerous world at present. G-D should be our protection and we need to say tehillim for the injured and the bereaved. May the Master of the Universe comfort them along with all the mourners of Zion and Yerushalim. We should have only good news and simchot.

Posted by Ilana on 2012-03-19 19:14:28 GMT

Everyone must realise that if a war breaks out in the Middle East in the coming weeks Jews all around the world will be threatened. The interconnectedness of the world right now is quite remarkable.

Posted by Adam Neira on 2012-03-19 17:54:52 GMT

Barak: Hezbollah is continuing to target Jews http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=262485

Posted on 2012-03-19 17:38:32 GMT

"Jews around world under growing terror threat" http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=262456

Posted on 2012-03-19 17:37:28 GMT

After several failures to hurt Israelis in nearby countries, Iranians activated their EU branch, knowing the declining relationship with the continent, Sarkozi"s weak hands, make France, a nation of appeasers, a soft target. One has to live in a cave not to figure that Iran"s hands are all over this nasty job. Jews pay for Europe"s sheepish posture. Perhaps, it is time for the Mossad, to pull a job that could demonstrate that somebody could stand for Jewish life, I hope! I pray! This was one of the original missions of the Mossad, to save Jewish life!

Posted on 2012-03-19 15:59:20 GMT

Prayers for the deceased and injured from this evil attack. The perpetrator/s must be found and apprehended as soon as possible. There could be a connection to the cases of the three French soldiers who were murdered in the last two weeks in and around Toulouse were of North African origin, perhaps Muslim themselves, so this latest killing spree may have been done by a person or persons of the extreme nationalist bent. Of course before making suppositions more facts are required.

Posted by Adam Neira on 2012-03-19 11:39:46 GMT

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Four dead in French school shooting

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