Toulouse and Montauban shootings

Toulouse and Montauban shootings
Part of Islamic terrorism in Europe
Location of Toulouse and Montauban, France
LocationMidi-Pyrénées, France:
Date11 March 2012 (2012-03-11) –
22 March 2012 (2012-03-22)
TargetFrench soldiers and Jewish civilians
Attack type
Spree shooting, school shooting, siege, mass murder, Islamic terrorism
Weapons
Deaths8 (including the perpetrator)
Injured11
PerpetratorMohammed Merah[1]
MotiveExtremist Islamic beliefs, opposition to war in Afghanistan, Antisemitism
ConvictionsAbdelkader Merah and Fettah Malki convicted of taking part in a criminal terrorist conspiracy

The Toulouse and Montauban shootings were a series of Islamist terrorist attacks[2][3][4] committed by Mohammed Merah in March 2012 in the cities of Montauban and Toulouse in the Midi-Pyrénées region of France. He targeted French Army soldiers as well as children and teachers at a Jewish school.[5][6][7] In total, seven people were killed and eleven more wounded.

Merah, a 23-year-old[8] French criminal of Algerian descent born and raised in Toulouse,[9] began his killing spree on 11 March, shooting an off-duty French Army paratrooper in Toulouse. On 15 March, he killed two off-duty uniformed French soldiers and seriously wounded another in Montauban.[10] On 19 March, he opened fire at the Ozar Hatorah Jewish day school in Toulouse, killing a rabbi and three children, and also wounding four others.[11][12] After the shootings, France raised its terror alert system, Vigipirate, to the highest level in the Midi-Pyrénées region and surrounding departements.[13]

Merah, who filmed his attacks with a body-worn camera, claimed allegiance to Al-Qaeda. He said he carried out his attacks because of France's participation in the War in Afghanistan and its ban on Islamic face veils,[3] and justified his attack on the Jewish school because "The Jews kill our brothers and sisters in Palestine".[14][15][16] He was killed on 22 March by a police tactical unit after a 30-hour siege at his rented apartment there, during which he wounded six officers.[17][18][19] His brother and another man were later convicted of taking part in a "terrorist conspiracy" over the attacks, which were condemned by the French Council of the Muslim Faith,[20] the United Nations[21] and many governments around the world.[22]

  1. ^ "Raid on Toulouse shooting suspect". BBC News. 22 March 2012.
  2. ^ Kepel, Gilles. Terror in France: The Rise of Jihad in the West. Princeton University Press, 2017, pp. 64-67.
  3. ^ a b Foley, Frank. Countering Terrorism in Britain and France. Cambridge University Press, 2013. p. 38.
  4. ^ European Police Office (29 April 2013). EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report 2012. Europol. doi:10.2813/11445. ISBN 9789295078772.
  5. ^ "France shooting: Toulouse Jewish school attack kills four". BBC News. 19 March 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  6. ^ Chrisafis, Angelique (19 March 2012). "Toulouse shooting: four killed outside Jewish school". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference BBC What We Know was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Alger refuse d'accueillir la dépouille de Merah, il sera enterré à Toulouse". Zinfos 974, l'actualité de l'île de La Réunion.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference WP was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ ""En tuant des militaires musulmans français, Merah a tué son double"". Le Monde.fr. 26 March 2012 – via Le Monde.
  11. ^ "Une fusillade devant une école juive à Toulouse fait au moins trois morts". Le Monde (in French). Agence France-Presse, Reuters. 19 March 2012.
  12. ^ "Four killed in shooting at Jewish school in France". Haaretz. 19 March 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  13. ^ "France on highest terror alert in shooting region" CBS News
  14. ^ "What are the real lessons to be learned from the Toulouse killings?", The Telegraph, March 2012; Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  15. ^ "Siege of French Gunman into Second Day". Sky News. 22 March 2012. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference eitb was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference theaus was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ "Authorities Helpless to Prevent Lone Wolf Attacks". Spiegel Online. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  19. ^ "French police swoop nets Islamist militant suspects". The Sydney Morning Herald. 31 March 2012.
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference Condemn1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ Cite error: The named reference condemn2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  22. ^ "Toulouse shooting: Israeli PM condemns 'despicable murder of Jews'". The Daily Telegraph. London. 19 March 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2012.