Toulouse siege over as gunman wounded and hostages freed The branch the of CIC bank on Toulouse's Avenue Camille Pujol, is a few hundred yards from the apartment where Mohammed Merah was killed three months ago after murdering three Jewish children, a rabbi and three paratroopers in the area. The man specifically requested the presence of the Raid unit of elite armed police that killed Merah, a self-style al-Qaeda militant, on 22 March. He reportedly demanded cash and brandished a gun when not taken seriously at the bank. The streets near the bank were cordoned off by elite police officers from the GIPN brigade (AP) The sister of the hostage taker told local media that "my brother is enraged." "He was placed in Ddass (care of the social services) when he was little, has the rage and is afraid of the outside world," she said. Thursday's hostage-taking began about 11 a.m. (0900GMT) at a CIC bank branch in central Toulouse, a Toulouse police official said. The official said a single shot was fired but no injuries have been reported so far. A second shot was later heard at the scene. The neighborhood around the bank was cordoned off. Calls to the CIC bank branch went unanswered. The hostages include the bank branch director and two others. The man asked for the Raid unit to be involved in the hostage negotiations. Four months ago paramilitary Raid officers led a 32-hour standoff with Merah, before he was killed by a shot to the head after a gunfight.