Tag: france
France ‘terror’ shooting leaves 3 dead, multiple injured with gunman on the run: officials
A shooting in Strasbourg, France, on Tuesday left three people dead, several others wounded and is being treated as an act of “terror,” police and government officials said, adding that the gunman is on the run.
The suspect opened fire in downtown Strasbourg on Orfevre Street around 8 p.m. local time, government authorities Préfet de la région Grand-Est et du Bas-Rhin revealed on Twitter.
The gunman is known to police and has a criminal record, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner told reporters.
The suspect was shot and wounded before fleeing the scene, police officials told The Associated Press. Authorities had attempted to arrest the individual ahead of the shooting, a police official said, but it wasn’t immediately clear why.
The shooting death toll stood at three, according to Castaner. That’s despite an earlier report from police union officials that four people were killed. Officials did not explain the reason for the conflicting death tolls.
The country increased their security alert level hours after the attack occurred and will be dispersing additional security forces to Strasbourg, the interior minister said.
Part of the incident took place in a Christmas market at Rue des Grandes Arcades and unfolded on different streets in the city, Strasbourg Mayor Roland Ries said. Military forces were helping the police, according to the mayor.
The Interior Ministry instructed people in Strasbourg to stay inside due to a “serious security event” taking place, The Associated Press reported.
Government officials in the region also took to Twitter, saying there was an “event underway in Strasbourg” and cautioned against spreading “false rumors.”
“Avoid the area around the police station,” the Préfet de la région Grand-Est et du Bas-Rhin tweeted.
That area is located near the city’s Christmas market, according to The Associated Press. Strasbourg’s well-known market is set up around the city’s cathedral during the Christmas period and becomes a popular gathering place.
The European Parliament, which meets in Strasbourg, was closed and nobody is permitted to leave, according to Jaume Duch, the institution’s director general for communication and spokesperson.
“The European Parliament has been closed and no one can leave until further notice,” Duch tweeted. “Deputies and staff have received e-mails or SMS” telling them to stay safe.
Read more via FOXNews
Worst ambulance dispatcher ever told woman she’d die
An unapologetic ambulance dispatcher claims she was overworked and under pressure when she told a dying French woman, “You’ll definitely die one day” — hours before the victim actually did, according to reports.
Patient Naomi Musenga was having severe stomach pain when she dialed the city of Strasbourg’s ambulance service and got the gruff operator on the line, BBC News reported.
“I’m going to die,” Musenga told the worker, who replied, “You’ll definitely die one day, like everyone else.”
As Musenga struggled to describe her pain, the dispatcher responded, “If you don’t tell me what’s going on, I’ll hang up!”
The worker, who has not been identified, eventually dispatched a doctor to Musenga instead of an ambulance. After five hours, the 22-year-old victim was rushed to a hospital, where she suffered a stroke and died of multiple organ failure.
The dispatcher, who came under fire for her callous comment, tried to defend herself by saying she and her colleagues are “constantly under pressure” — but she stopped short of apologizing to Musenga’s family.
“In the conditions, let’s say it was inappropriate,” the worker told French TV on Sunday night when asked if she regretted her behavior. “We are constantly under pressure … I can be two or three hours hanging on my phone, I have no time to get up. There’s so much [demand] everywhere. We hang up, and we pick up.”
Last week, her lawyer said she normally fields an average of 2,000 calls a day.
“When … you hear, ‘I have a stomach ache’ … it is true that the first reflex is to think that there is no absolute emergency and that one has to go and see their [general practitioner],” the lawyer said.
The dispatcher had just returned to work after being off for two weeks and started her day at 7:30 a.m. Musenga’s call came four hours into her shift, at 11:30 a.m.
The victim’s 3-minute call dates back to December — but it recently made headlines after the disturbing audio was released.
The worker, who has been a part of the ambulance system for 24 years, has been suspended, the BBC said, citing Le Parisien newspaper.
Musenga’s family said the operator isn’t to blame and sympathized with her stressful working conditions, France’s BFMTV reported.
Authorities are investigating but said they’re looking into streamlining France’s emergency phone numbers, which vary for police, ambulance, fire and the European Union emergency number 112.
Benjamin Griveaux, a spokesman for the French government, said French citizens are more familiar with 911 than their own set of numbers.
via: https://nypost.com/2018/05/14/worst-ambulance-dispatcher-ever-told-woman-shed-die/
Man shouting “Allahu Akbar” kills two at French train station
Man Shouting What Could Have Been “Allahu Akbar”, And Kills Two At French Train Station Before Being Shot Dead
Two women were stabbed to death and their assailant shot dead by soldiers in the southern French port city of Marseille on Sunday in what police sources described as a “likely terrorist act”.
Three police sources said the suspect had shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest) as he carried out his attack at Marseille’s main railway station.
The two victims – one aged 17 and the other 20 – suffered gory injuries, two police sources said, saying one had her throat slit while the other was stabbed in the stomach.
“If the military had not been there, we would have had a lot more deaths,” Samia Ghali, lawmaker for the Marseille region, told France Bleu Province radio.
Some 200 police officers had cordoned off the area and all roads were closed to traffic, with security forces saying the operation was still ongoing.
The Paris prosecutor opened a counter-terrorism probe.
France has been in a state of emergency following a spate of attacks by Islamist militants over the last two years, including attacks in Paris in November 2015 which killed 130 people. Other countries, including Britain, Germany and Belgium, have also suffered attacks using knives, guns, explosives and vehicles.
A witness told Reuters she saw a man take out a knife from his sleeve and then stab a young girl and then a second woman, shouting what could have been “Allahu Akbar”.
She added that she saw soldiers from France’s Sentinelle force who were patrolling in the area arrive on the public square at the Gare Saint-Charles station.