A woman was killed after an armed man entered a retirement home for former Catholic missionaries and held residents hostage.
Police responded to the scene a few miles outside the city of Montpellier after a caretaker managed to escape and alert authorities Thursday night. A 54-year-old linen maid was found dead at the scene after getting stabbed several times.
The prosecutor did not reveal the identity of the suspect, who is still at large, but said there is no link to Islamist terrorism.
“At this stage we can’t say exactly what the perpetrator’s motive was, but what we can say is that there is no link, none at all, with Islamist terrorism,” Montpellier prosecutor Christophe Barret told reporters.
Police were able to identify the suspect from items in an abandoned car close to the scene. The suspect is believed to be part of “the entourage” of the retirement home.
“The investigation is focusing on a local track, meaning somebody within the entourage of the retirement home,” Barret said.
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