A FAMILY of five, including three kids, have been shot dead in a "hostage situation" in France.
Local media reported a man in his twenties has been shot after he allegedly killed five members of his family he had been holding hostage since Tuesday night.
Christian Limousin, the mayor of the eastern town of Douvres in the Ain department, confirmed that the young man went after the five members of the family before he was shot dead by the Special French Force, known as the GIGN.
The 22-year-old reportedly killed his father, his stepmother and three children – his 17-year old sister, his step-sister aged 15 and his step-brother, 5 -, the mayor is quoted as saying by FranceBleu.
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The gendarmes were alerted about a potential hostage situation on Tuesday around 11:30pm and tried to negotiate with the alleged captor until the arrival of the GIGN team sent from Dijon this morning before 07:00am.
A long negotiation took place before the assault on the "madman" was given at midday.
“Faced with the possible dangerousness of the character”, the GIGN took the decision to shoot dead the man, a source told Agence France Presse.
Limousin confirmed the alleged attacker was the son from his father's previous union.
The blended family had moved to Douvres in July 2021, but the 22-year-old was not living in the house at the time of the incident, Limousin said.
The father was running a local construction company, according to Le Progres.
The local café La Babillière claimed the grandmother had rung them to have some news from her daughter – the alleged killer's step-mother -, who had not given any sign of life for 24 hours, France3 reported.
Customers of the café described a drone, and gunshots fired this morning around 09am.
Managers of the establishment indicated they have now temporarily closed the store "in light of the events".
Parts of the village are still closed off and the house is still surrounded by police, local media report.
The Public Prosecutor of the Ain is yet to comment on the case.
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