LONDON -- One person was beheaded in what the French president is describing as a terrorist attack at a gas factory in southeastern France near Lyon on Friday morning. Two others were wounded and multiple arrests have been made.
The decapitated body was found near the Air Products plant in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, according to French President François Hollande, who spoke at a press conference after the attack.
On Friday afternoon, live television from France showed two people — a woman and another person whose head was covered — being led away by French security forces from the detained suspect's apartment building in Saint Priest, a suburb of Lyon.
France's top security official said the suspect himself was detained earlier Friday after he rammed a car into gas canisters at an American gas factory in southeastern France, touching off an explosion that injured two people. A security official says the suspect's wife was among those taken into custody Friday afternoon. A fourth person was also arrested.
Another security official said the suspect apparently miscalculated about how explosive the chemicals he smashed into would be. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. He says the man in custody, Yassine Salhi, is a resident in his 30s of the Lyon suburb of Saint-Priest.
Security officials picked up two people from Salhi's apartment Friday afternoon. Another security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to speak with the media, said one of them was Salhi's wife.
In a tweet, Hollande said the answer to Friday's attack was action and prevention and told France to never give into fear. A cabinet meeting has been scheduled for 3:30 p.m. local time, according to France 24.
Notre réponse, c'est l'action, la prévention, la dissuasion et donc la nécessité de porter des valeurs et de ne pas céder à la peur, jamais.— François Hollande (@fhollande) June 26, 2015
What we know about the victim
Three French officials say the decapitated victim found in an attack on an American gas factory in France was the suspect's employer.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing, said the victim was believed to have died before the suspect got a car through the factory's gates and rammed into gas canisters Friday morning. That triggered an explosion that officials say injured two people.
His name was not released.
What we know from the scene
Earlier, two French officials told The Associated Press that the attack began mid-morning in the Isere region when attackers crashed a car into the entrance of the factory and into gas canisters, creating an explosion.
A security official said a decapitated head was found posted on the gate at the entry to the gas factory. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release details to the media, said the torso was found near the site of the explosion but that the victim was not decapitated by the blast.
Two flags, one white and one black and both with Arabic inscriptions, were found at the scene.
This video from local media outlet Le Dauphiné Libéré captures the scene outside the factory after the attack.
A large security perimeter has been established around the area and France's Prime Minister Manuel Valls has ordered enhanced security on all nearby sensitive sites in the Rhône-Alpes region.
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Socialist MP Joëlle Huillier has been at the scene in front of the targeted factory and she posted this photo to Twitter.
L'horreur frappe à Saint Quentin Fallavier, je suis sur place pour accueillir le ministre de l'Intérieur pic.twitter.com/aUGV686WuW— Joëlle Huillier (@Joellehuillier) June 26, 2015
The country has been on high alert after the January Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris in which 20 people died.
What is Air Products
Air Products is a multinational company, which produces industrial gases, including atmospheric, process and specialty gases. It supplies products to a number of industries and markets, including metals, food and beverage refining and petrochemical, and natural gas liquefaction, according to the company's website.
The company, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange has more than 20,0000 employees in 50 countries around the world and has been in business for 75 years. It's led by chief executive officer and chairman Seifi Ghasemi who took up the role in 2014.
Additional reporting by The Associated Press.