French police reopened the area where four people were killed in a shooting spree outside a Jewish school on Monday, and are investigating whether the gun used for the murder of a rabbi and three children was also used to murder two Muslim French paratroopers last week.
One of the men who attended the same synagogue as the victim, Rabbi Jonathan Sandler, told Haaretz that he arrived at shaharit (morning prayers) at 8:00 A.M. on Monday, walked through the gate before Sandler and seconds later heard gunshots in the yard. According to the man, there were about 100 parents and children present at the time.
"We ran into the school quickly, sought cover, heard gunshots for at least a minute and after that there was silence," said the man. "We waited for minutes until the police arrived. Nobody knew what it could be; everyone thought it was something to do with [last week's shooting of] paratroopers, perhaps it was a Nazi, or maybe an Arab," said the man.
Initial ballistic investigations suggest that the gun used in Monday morning's attack was the same gun used to murder two French paratroopers last week, and was apparently used in a similar way. Four days ago, two paratroopers were killed in nearby Montauban, and another paratrooper was killed eight days ago in Toulouse. The dead and injured were all of North African and Caribbean origin. No organization has taken responsibility for Monday morning's attack as yet.
Residents of Toulouse's Roseraie said they feel shocked at the fact that one of the city's quiet neighborhoods could be host to such an attack. The school itself was significantly protected, with automatic gates and closed-circuit security cameras. Earlier on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the is a "despicable murder," and that he is certain that French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his government "will do everything in their power to find the murderer, and I promise that Israel will help France in this task."
The shooting on Monday took place near a synagogue on the campus of the Ozar Hatorah school, where children and their parents usually wait for a bus that takes them to the various Jewish preschools in the community. The victim, Jonathan Sandler, a Jewish studies teacher at the school, was waiting for the bus with his two children when the shooting occurred. French prosecutor Michel Valet said that those killed were Sandler, 30, and his 3-year-old and 6-year-old sons. He said another child, between 8 and 10 years old, was also killed, and a 17-year-old seriously wounded.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement that "the Israeli Embassy in Paris, as well as the Israeli Consulate in Marseille, have contacted the bereaved families and learned of their desire to bring their loved ones to Israel for burial. The Government of Israel has therefore decided to transfer the coffins to Israel as soon as possible, with the cooperation and assistance of Israel's representatives in France and in coordination with the French authorities."