1 of 7
A school student is escorted as he leaves the Ozar Hatora Jewish school in Toulouse, southwestern France
A man on a scooter opened fire outside the school killing three children and one adult, a police source said. Reuters

Pupils, parents, teachers and much of France are coming to terms with the horrific slaughter of three children and a male teacher by a gunman who sped off on a scooter after opening fire outside the school gates.

The victims, including a teacher who was believed to be a rabbi, were killed after the lone assailant opened fire outside the Ozar Hatorah School, a private Jewish secondary school in Toulouse.

Two of the dead man's sons, aged three and six, were among those killed.

The fourth victim, a child aged between eight and 10, is believed to be the school's principal's daughter.

A 17-year-old teenage boy is also said to be seriously injured.

Gilles Bernheim, the grand rabbi of France, said he was horrified and stunned by the tragedy. Israel called on France "to shed full light on this tragedy and bring the perpetrators to justice".

Israel