Multiple sources are reporting about a developing hostage situation in France, as police continue to hunt for the perpetrators of the January 7 attack in Paris. According to Bloomberg , there have been reports of several gunshots being fired in the town of Dammartin-en-Goele located outside of Paris. Local radio station RTL Radio has confirmed that gunshots were indeed heard. They have, however, not yet confirmed a hostage situation or revealed that the developing situation is related to the Charlie Hebdo massacre.
The Telegraph is reporting about a car chase that is happening near Paris, in which shots were fired as well. The report says that a pair of men were inside a stolen Peugeot car. The car was stolen earlier today morning, reports say.
The report also talks about a possible hostage situation in Dammartin-en-Goele, where at least a single person is being held hostage. The town is located 8.4 miles northeast of Charles de Gaulle Airport in France’s Seine-et-Marne department.
The latest turn of events is being reported even as France is conducting the biggest manhunt in its history, following the brutal terrorist attack on the offices of satire newspaper Charlie Hebdo that left a dozen people dead. Yesterday, officers from France’s elite counter-terrorist squad had surrounded three villages located 44 miles northeast of Paris, where they believed two suspects that perpetrated the attack were hiding. In an earlier Inquisitr report, we reported that the suspects were identified as Said Kouachi, 34, and his 32-year-old brother, Cherif.
The report of a hostage situation in France comes just a day after there were reports of a policewoman being shot and killed outside Paris yesterday. Both the new incidents of violence have not yet been officially linked to the Charlie Hebdo massacre on January 7. Local law enforcement authorities have asked people from the town of Dammartin-en-Goele to remain indoors until the crisis is resolved.
Meanwhile, the attack on the office of Charlie Hebdo and the subsequent killings of 13 people have resulted in France going in to an official state of mourning. As a mark of respect to the victims of the killings, authorities switched off the lights on the Eiffel Tower. The attack on Charlie Hebdo was carried out by Islamic extremists who took offense to the kind of cartoons that were drawn by the staff members of the satirical newspaper.