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A 'lonely Satanist' student has allegedly opened fire at a French high school, injuring three people - including the headteacher.

The 17-year-old was arrested after he reportedly launched the horror attack at the Alexis de Tocqueville school in Grasse today.

He is believed to have stormed the building armed with a rifle, two handguns and two grenades, before firing a series of shots.

He carried out the terrifying attack after watching American-style mass shooting videos, the interior ministry said this afternoon.

He has since been named as Kylian Barbey - the teenage son of the right-wing municipal councillor, Franck Barbey.

(Image: AFP) (Image: REUTERS) (Image: AFP)

A second attacker was initially thought to be on the run after the incident, which sparked a major terror alert in France.

However, a police source has since said the suspect appears to have acted alone.

This afternoon, witnesses described scenes of panic as the teenager allegedly entered the school canteen with his weapons.

Panicked students rushed to hide under tables or sprinted for the exit.

"It was total panic," a student called Achraf told BFM TV.

"The gunshots were at four to five metres from where we were. We thought the gunman was coming towards us. We heard him shouting.

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(Image: REUTERS) (Image: AFP) (Image: AFP) (Image: AFP)

"I just know the gunman by sight. He was gentle and low-key, not a nasty guy."

A police official has since said the attack does not appear to be linked to terrorism.

Kylian, who was arrested at the school, had reportedly been looking at videos of mass killings on the Internet before the shooting.

The last photo he posted on his Facebook profile was of a long-haired Gothic figure, carrying a pistol and an assault rifle, Nice Matin reports.

"The first investigations suggest he had consulted American-style mass killings' videos," said Interior ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet.

A police source added: "The individual does not seem to be known by police."

(Image: AFP) (Image: AFP) (Image: REUTERS) (Image: AFP)

Three people were shot in the attack in Grasse, near Cannes.

This figure includes the headteacher, who was hit shortly after 1pm after apparently trying to intervene when the gunmen targeted a pupil.

It is not clear whether the other two wounded victims are students. Five other victims suffered from shock, according to Mr Brandet.

None of the injuries is said to be life-threatening.

The terror alert was put in place after gunshots were heard at the school.

One student told of the horror after seeing the alleged teen gunman.

She said: "I was in English class - we heard a shot.

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"We didn’t think think it was an attack. We instinctively got under the tables.

" I went over to shut the windows and a guy looked me in the eyes. He looked like a student, he wasn’t very big.

"He shot into the air and left at a run. We stayed in the classrooms and the police cleared the two floors."

One former student at the school told Metropolitan she had spoken to pupils at the school who claimed the suspect was a lonely heavy metal fan.

She said: "The shooter is a student who is dressed in black and who is adept at Satanism.

(Image: Le Direct/ Twitter) (Image: AFP) (Image: AFP)

"He is a fan of Metal, in particular. He is known to be rather lonely."

Journalist Soren Seelow also tweeted that images "referring to Satanism" had been discovered on the suspect's social network pages.

Emergency services raced to the scene after reports of the shooting, while the French government issued an "attack alert".

Writing on Twitter, one man called Markin said: “A person entered the Tocqueville Alexis high school and opened fire.

“….My brother was there, it is confirmed. I called the police.”

He added: “It’s horrible. A friend of my brother is shot”.

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Local emergency services used Twitter to advise residents of the town of about 50,000 inhabitants to stay at home.

The government launched a mobile telephone application warning of a "terrorist" attack, although this is now automatic for any such incident.

It is thought that Kylian is a student at the school. Checks were under way to establish whether there was a second assailant.

However, it is reported that police believe Kylian acted alone.

France has some of the strictest gun laws in the world.

French citizens are banned from owning automatic weapons.

(Image: Google)

And many other guns require government authorisation and a medical exam, along with a permit from a hunting or sport shooting federation.

Today's shooting comes as France is on high alert after more than 230 people were killed in the past two years by attackers allied to ISIS.

With a presidential election less than six weeks away, the attack seems likely to further stimulate debate on security and fears of terrorism.

These are both among big campaign issues.

Earlier today, a worker at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was injured in Paris after opening a suspected letter bomb.