'You know who I am': Paris gunman murders two and holds five hostage in Kosher grocery shop

French newspapers are reporting that armed police have evacuated the area in Porte de Vincennes

Five hostages, including children, are being held in Kosher grocery Hyper Cacher off from at Rue Albert Willemetz, a side street off the main Porte de Vincennes boulevard, a police source confirmed to The Independent. At least one shop employee had escaped, he said.

There are also unconfirmed reports that the gunman, thought to be 32-year-old Amedy Coulibaly, is refusing to release any of the hostages until the Kouachi brothers are allowed to flee the police siege further north.

The man, who is reportedly armed with two Kalashnikov rifles, is said to have told police officers: "You know who I am."

Coulibaly's girlfriend Hayat Boumedienne, 26, has also be named by police as a person of interest. It is believed that Ms Boumedienne attended a suspected jihadist training camp in Cantal, a mountainous area of central France.

26-year-old Hayat Boumeddiene and 32-year-old Amedy Coulibaly

Others present included Cherif Kouachi, who is one of the suspected gunman in the horrific Charlie Hebdo massacre. Both were questioned by French security at the time but released for lack of evidence.

Unconfirmed reports that two people may have been killed by the gunman, with witnesses claiming that the shooting lasted 20 seconds.

An eyewitness to the Vincennes hostage-taking told Europe 1 radio: “People were buying things when a man came in with a rifle and started shooting in all directions. I ran out. The shooting continued for several seconds.” 

In pictures: Kosher grocery attack in Paris

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Police have evacuated everyone from the area, Le Monde reports. Local people said they had heard prolonged gunfire.

Heavily armed police units cordoned off surrounding streets around the incident unfolding at Hyper Cacher (roughly translated as Super Kosher) grocery store, The Independent's John Lichfield reported.

Paris' Mayor Anne Hidalgo wrote on Twitter: “I have learned with horror of the hostage situation that has begun at the Porte de Vincennes, and I am going to the scene immediately.”

The latest alleged attack develops as the world watches another unfolding hostage situation in an industrial estate in France, around 25 miles north-east of Paris.

The two suspected gunmen of the Charlie Hebdo massacre earlier this week remain holed up inside a print works as French negotiators work to create a dialogue.   

Source http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/paris-attacks-armed-gunman-takes-hostage-in-kosher-grocery-shop-in-east-of-city-9967968.html