A police official says the gunman holding at least five hostages in a kosher market in eastern Paris has threatened to kill them if police launch an assault on the cornered brothers suspected in the newspaper massacre earlier this week.
The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the dual hostage situations, described the events as “clearly linked.”
Paris police say Amedy Coulibaly, left, and Hayat Boumeddiene are believed to be involved in the supermarket hostage taking in the city. (EPA)
The official said several people had been wounded when the gunman opened fire in the market Friday afternoon and were able to flee and get medical care.
It wasn’t clear whether there were other wounded inside the market, or whether the woman listed as the gunman’s accomplice in a police bulletin was inside with him.
Earlier, a police official who was not authorized to speak about the situation said the man opened fire in the kosher market, near Paris’ Porte de Vincennes, and declared, “You know who I am.”
The armed man took hostages, police sources said, but they denied earlier reports that two people had been killed, Reuters reported.
Hyper Cacher is located in eastern Paris. (CBC)
The Paris mayor’s office immediately announced the closure of all shops along Rosiers Street in the city’s famed Marais neighbourhood in the heart of the tourist district. Hours before the Jewish Sabbath, the street is usually crowded with shoppers — French Jews and tourists alike. The street is also only a kilometre away from Charlie Hebdo’s offices.
Paris police released a photo of Amedy Coulibaly, 32, as a suspect in the killing Thursday of a policewoman, and the official named him as the man holed up in the market. He said the man is armed with an automatic rifle and some hostages have been gravely wounded.
He said a second suspect, a woman named Hayet Boumddiene, 26, is the gunman’s accomplice.
Helmeted SWAT squads converged on the standoff.
The two men suspected in Wednesday’s attack on satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo have been on the run since gunning down 12 people and remain cornered by police about 30 kilometres away.
France has been high alert for other attacks since the newspaper massacre.
