Nanterre mayor Jacqueline Fraysse, who survived as council colleagues slumped over dead around her, was appalled that Durn had been able to slip away so easily.

CNN: French killer's 'bin Laden wish'

Prosecutors in Paris have opened an inquiry into Durn's death.

CNN: French killer's 'bin Laden wish'

"I don't give a durn about it, " Frankie said.

NPR: Excerpt: 'The Member of the Wedding'

In France, the last mass shooting comparable to the recent American random murders dates back to 2002, when a Richard Durn gunned down eight members of the city council of his home town of Nanterre, a suburb of Paris.

CNN: France: Where fear and taboo control guns more than laws