TOULOUSE, France (AP) — An official says French police plan to storm an apartment building shortly if a gunman suspected in seven killings and claiming allegiance to al-Qaida doesn’t surrender.

Cedric Delage, regional secretary for a police union, said the suspect has promised to turn himself into police by 2:30 p.m. (1330GMT). Delage says if that doesn’t happen, police will force their way in to try to take him by force.

Hundreds of riot police are surrounding the building in the southwestern city of Toulouse. They launched a raid well before dawn and a gunfight erupted, wounding three officers. They have been negotiating with the gunman for hours.

The gunman is suspected of killing three Jewish children, a rabbi and three French paratroopers in recent days.

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TOULOUSE, France (AP) — A gunman claiming al-Qaida links and suspected in the killings of three Jewish children, a rabbi and three paratroopers barricaded himself in an apartment Wednesday after a predawn police raid erupted into a firefight.

Hundreds of police surrounded the building in the southwestern city of Toulouse after three officers were wounded while trying to arrest the 24-year-old Frenchman of Algerian descent, who authorities said had spent time in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The suspect told police he belonged to al-Qaida and wanted to take revenge for Palestinian children killed in the Middle East, Interior Minister Claude Gueant said. The man also said he was angry about French military intervention abroad, Gueant said.