PARIS - A manhunt was under way yesterday for a bank robber who shot and killed three people and seriously injured three others during a botched Paris holdup.
A man wearing a mask and reportedly dressed as a woman was seen taking about 10 people hostage inside the Caisse d'Epargne bank
in a shopping centre in Cergy-Pontoise.
The gunman fired shots inside the bank, killing the branch's director and a bank employee and seriously injuring another person, police said.
After shooting his way out of the building, he fired at people in two separate cars as he tried to steal an escape vehicle. One driver was killed and his wife injured. Another motorist had serious injuries. Four other people who were taken hostage had less serious injuries.
The assailant fled on foot, empty-handed. Police set up roadblocks.
Bank customers alerted authorities of the holdup after they arrived for appointments, LCI television reported. They found the branch's doors locked and reported seeing a hooded man inside.
More than 40 police gathered outside while the gunman held those inside the bank hostage, authorities said.
Violent crime is becoming a major political issue in France, with President Jacques Chirac advocating a zero tolerance policy similar to that in some American cities. Violent crime in the Paris area rose by 50 per cent in a year.
- AGENCIES
