A gunman is on the run in France after killing a woman in an attack on a retirement home for Catholic missionaries near the city of Montpellier.

Armed police were deployed to the Maison de Retraite des Missions Africaines (African Missions Retirement Home) in Montferrier-sur-Lez on Thursday night.

"An individual, who was masked and armed with a knife and a sawn-off shotgun came into the retirement home where 70 missionaries live," a source told the AFP news agency, adding that the man's motivations were unknown.

Police at a retirement home for Catholic missionaries in Montferrier-sur-Lez in France, following an attack on 24 November (EPA)

Local authorities confirmed at least one person had been found dead, with the e-Metropolitain news website reporting a female supervisor had been killed with a knife after she raised the alarm.

The woman's body was reportedly found bound and gagged, while the attacker's whereabouts remained unclear as searches continued.

“For the time being, there is only one victim,” Montpellier prosecutor Christophe Barret said. “For the moment there is no particular evidence about the motive for this crime.”

The assault was launched at around 9.45pm local time (8.45pm GMT), at the home run for both religious and non-religious residents.

Around 60 residents have since been rescued by police but the assailant was believed to have fled. Road blocks were set up in the surrounding area, with officers searching cars as a helicopter searched overhead.

“A large number of security forces, firefighters and ambulance personnel are at the scene,” said the mayor of Montferrier-sur-Luz, Michel Fraysse.

Normandy church attack in pictures Show all 16 1 /16 Normandy church attack in pictures Normandy church attack in pictures The victim was the 84-year-old priest at the church, Jacques Hamel. AFP/Getty Normandy church attack in pictures French police at the scene of the attack on a church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, northern France, on July 26 AFP/Getty Images Normandy church attack in pictures More police at the scene BFM TV Normandy church attack in pictures French President Francois Hollande shaking hands with security personnel at the scene AP Normandy church attack in pictures French soldiers standing guard outside the scene of the attack AP Normandy church attack in pictures A policeman secures a position in front of the city hall after two assailants had taken five people hostage in the church at Saint-Etienne-du -Rouvray near Rouen in Normandy Pascal Rossignol/Reuters Normandy church attack in pictures A policeman holds a HKG36 assault rifle as he secures the position in front of the local town hall following the attack REUTERS Normandy church attack in pictures French judicial inverstigating police apprehends a man during a raid after a hostage-taking in the church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray near Rouen in Normandy, France REUTERS Normandy church attack in pictures A French policeman arrests a man following a search in a house on July 26, 2016 in the Normandy city of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, where a priest was killed earlier today in the latest of a string of attacks against Western targets claimed by or blamed on the Islamic State jihadist group. French President Francois Hollande said that two men who attacked a church and slit the throat of a priest had "claimed to be from Daesh", using the Arabic name for the Islamic State group. Police said they killed two hostage-takers in the attack in the Normandy town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, 125 kilometres (77 miles) north of Paris. / AFP PHOTO / CHARLY TRIBALLEAUCHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Normandy church attack in pictures An undated photo shows French priest, Father Jacques Hamel of the parish of Saint-Etienne. Hamel was killed, and another person was seriously wounded after two assailants took five people hostage in the church at Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray near Rouen in Normandy, France, July 26, 2016 in an attack on a church that was carried out by assailants linked to Islamic State. Photo Courtesy of Parish of Saint-Etienne via Reuters NO SALES. NO ARCHIVES. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED BY REUTERS AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. REUTERS Normandy church attack in pictures The bell tower of the church is seen after a hostage-taking in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray near Rouen in Normandy, France, July 26, 2016. A priest was killed with a knife and another hostage seriously wounded in an attack on a church that was carried out by assailants linked to Islamic State. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol REUTERS Normandy church attack in pictures French policemen stand outside a house during a search in a house on July 26, 2016 in the Normandy village of Saint-Etienne du Rouvray after a priest was killed in the latest of a string of attacks against Western targets claimed by or blamed on the Islamic State jihadist group. French President said that two men who attacked a church and slit the throat of a priest had "claimed to be from Daesh", using the Arabic name for the Islamic State group. Police said they killed two hostage-takers in the attack in the Normandy town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, 125 kilometres (77 miles) north of Paris. / AFP PHOTO / MATTHIEU ALEXANDREMATTHIEU ALEXANDRE/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Normandy church attack in pictures Police officers stand in front of a building during a search operation in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, Normandy, France, following an attack on a church that left a priest dead, Tuesday, July 26, 2016. Two attackers invaded a church Tuesday during morning Mass near the Normandy city of Rouen, killing an 84-year-old priest by slitting his throat and taking hostages before being shot and killed by police, French officials said. (AP Photo/Francois Mori) AP Normandy church attack in pictures Police officers conduct a search in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, Normandy, France, following an attack on a church that left a priest dead, Tuesday, July 26, 2016. Two attackers invaded a church Tuesday during morning Mass near the Normandy city of Rouen, killing an 84-year-old priest by slitting his throat and taking hostages before being shot and killed by police, French officials said. (AP Photo/Francois Mori) AP Normandy church attack in pictures French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve visits the church REUTERS Normandy church attack in pictures A French policeman stands near an armoured vehicle of the French Research and Intervention Brigade (BRI) police during a search in a house on July 26, 2016 in the Normandy village of Saint-Etienne du Rouvray after a priest was killed in the latest of a string of attacks against Western targets claimed by or blamed on the Islamic State jihadist group. French President said that two men who attacked a church and slit the throat of a priest had "claimed to be from Daesh", using the Arabic name for the Islamic State group. Police said they killed two hostage-takers in the attack in the Normandy town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, 125 kilometres (77 miles) north of Paris. / AFP PHOTO / MATTHIEU ALEXANDREMATTHIEU ALEXANDRE/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images

Alain Berthet, a local councillor in Montferrier-sur-Luz, said the home's residents were "very elderly with an average age of 75 although some are more than 90,” with many needing assistance to walk.

News of the killing was reverberating round France late on Thursday night, with people voicing their horror on social media.

The secretary general of the French Bishops' Conference, Olivier Ribadeau Dumas, wrote on Twitter: “Our prayers tonight go to the woman who lost her life in this attack on a retirement home.”

Suspicions quickly turned to terrorism just months after Isis supporters murdered a Catholic priest in an assault on a church in Normandy.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Thursday's incident.

France remains under a state of emergency imposed following the murder of 130 people in the Paris attacks last November.