French Friday #35: This thing does not happen

If you’ve been following the news the past week or so, you’ve probably heard about the scooter-riding terrorist riding around southern France and shooting people at point-blank range. You’ve probably also seen that the French SWAT police took him out after a 30 hour standoff at his apartment building. This was shocking and terribly upsetting for France. This kind of thing does not happen there. Yes, there are murders (at about half the rate of the United States), but not like this. I’d compare it to the feelings people were experiencing while the Beltway snipers were at large in the Washington D.C. area in 2002. It’s terrifying not knowing who or what the killer has in mind for his next target. Scooters are everywhere in France. How would you know which one is being ridden by a murder until it’s too late? I hope that the law-abiding French populace can breathe a little easier now, knowing that this particular threat is gone. My heart goes out especially to the kids who witnessed that horror and will never be able to look at their school the same way again.