Toulouse lives in fear of next attack

Toulouse lives in fear of next attack

For the first time in years, Pierre Cardinal's 11-year-old daughter was afraid to walk to school alone on Tuesday.

Soldiers stand guard in the subway, one day after the shooting of the "Ozar Hatorah" Jewish school, in Toulouse, southwestern France. For the first time in years, Pierre Cardinal's 11-year-old daughter was afraid to walk to school alone on Tuesday.

Like many in the southwestern French city of Toulouse, the girl and her parents were on edge -- anxious that a suspected serial killer behind a wave of shootings be caught before he can strike again.

"I'm afraid there will be more attacks if he is not stopped quickly," Cardinal told AFP in the city's central Capitole square, after a minute of silence was held at 11:00 am for the three children and teacher killed at a Jewish school on Monday.

"He's a madman and a bastard. He must be caught and punished for his racist and anti-Semitic acts," said Cardinal, a member of Toulouse's 25,000-strong Jewish community.

France has launched a massive manhunt for the cold-blooded killer who carried out the attack at the Jewish school and who murdered three soldiers -- all of North African descent -- in the same region last week.

All three shootings saw the attacker arrive and speed off on a scooter and officials have said the same gun was used in the attacks. Police are concerned that the killer might strike again, having carried out three attacks at precise four-day intervals.

French authorities stepped up security at Jewish and Muslim schools after Monday's shooting and President Nicolas Sarkozy has declared a maximum "scarlet" terror alert in the Midi-Pyrenees region, which includes Toulouse.

The alert level allows authorities widespread powers to disrupt daily life and implement sweeping security measures, including potentially shutting down public transport, airports and schools.

Mixed police and military patrols can be ordered. It is the last step in the scale of terror alerts before declaring a formal state of emergency.

Officials said about 200 investigators were on the case in Toulouse.

Military and police patrols could be seen at key sites in the city and police vehicles were parked outside some schools.

Toulouse Mayor Pierre Cohen said the city was "in shock and horror" following the shootings.

He told France Inter radio that city residents were "in pain, angry, and especially anxious... because a crazed and heinous killer is still on the loose".

At Toulouse-Blagnac airport, France's fourth-largest outside Paris, Laurent Dulau said there was a palpable feeling of fear in the city.

"I know we shouldn't freak out but you can't help but freak out a little," said Dulau, who was boarding a flight to Paris.

"When you see a scooter coming toward you, you keep an eye on it," he said.

Stephane Buda, who runs a restaurant at the airport, said everyone felt like a potential target.

"He can show up at any time. We don't know his motives, we only know that he arrives and kills everyone," Buda said.

A city of 850,000 in France's sleepy southwest, Toulouse is known for its ancient university, as the headquarters of European aerospace giant Airbus and as a hub for tourists boating on French canals.

It is home to one of the largest Jewish communities in France, which has Europe's largest Jewish community, estimated at up to 700,000 people.

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