Prosecutor confirms woman, 18, thought to be Radouane Lakdim’s girlfriend, had also been on watchlist of potential extremists

Two teenagers linked to a gunman who pledged allegiance to Islamic State before killing four people in a shooting spree and supermarket hostage-taking in southern France are being questioned over whether they had a role in preparing the attacks.

The French-Moroccan gunman, Radouane Lakdim, 25, who was shot dead by police after Friday’s hostage-taking at a supermarket in Trèbes near Carcassonne, had an 18-year-old girlfriend. She was arrested within hours of the attacks. The Paris prosecutor François Molins said that, like Lakdim, she had been on a watchlist of potential extremists.

French supermarket siege: memorial service held for victims Read more

The woman, who allegedly shouted “Allahu Akbar” when police arrested her, was still being questioned by police on Monday night, the prosecutor said. She had converted to Islam aged 16. Her phone contact with Lakdim stopped in January but she is thought to have continued talking to him on secure apps. On the morning of the attacks, she had posted a message on social media saying that unbelievers were promised to hell, Molins said. She denied being aware of or being associated with the attacks.

A 17-year-old boy who lived close to Lakdim in a modest neighbourhood in the historic town of Carcassonne was also arrested and is still being questioned. Someone known to the boy had told police in Carcassonne that the teenager was a very good friend of Lakdim’s and had been under his influence.

Molins said Lakdim, who was born in Morocco but arrived in France as a baby and was given French nationality aged 12, had been on a watchlist of possible extremists. He had still been under surveillance this month but there had been no signs he would commit an attack, Molins said.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Flowers are laid outside the gendarmerie of Carcassonne where Lt Col Arnaud Beltrame worked. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Molins said that Lt-Col Arnaud Beltrame, the gendarme who swapped places with a hostage that Lakdim had been using as a human-shield in the supermarket, died in hospital from stab wounds to the neck.

The prosecutor said Beltrame had put down his weapon and put his hands up in order to take the place of the hostage who Lakdim had been holding with a gun to her head. After the swap, Beltrame was held by Lakdim for more than two hours. Police stormed the supermarket and shot Lakdim dead after they heard three shots.

Beltrame was found with minor bullet wounds to the arm, the foot and face and a series of stab wounds, all inflicted by Lakdim. He died the following morning in hospital from his wounds. Molins said Beltrame had “sacrificed his life to save the life of that hostage”.

Radouane Lakdim: profile of the France supermarket gunman Read more

Local media reported that the hostage Beltrame saved was a 40-year-old cashier and mother of a two-year-old child. Molins did not confirm her identity or any details.

The prosecutor said CCTV footage had provided further information about the attacks, which Lakdim carried out after first dropping his younger sister off at school.

Lakdim first hijacked a car in Carcassonne, killing a car passenger and wounding the driver. He drove off, shooting at police officers returning from a jog. He then drove to the Super U supermarket in Trèbes, and ran in armed with a semi-automatic pistol, a hunting knife and three improvised explosive devices. He went towards the tills and shot dead a supermarket butcher, and then a pensioner waiting to pay for his shopping.

Later, as police evacuated shoppers who had been hiding in a cold-store and crouching in the aisles, Beltrame offered to swap places with Lakdim’s hostage.

A national memorial led by president Emmanuel Macron will be held for Beltrame on Wednesday.