The French National gunman, born to Algerian parents, whose killing spree began on March 11, is now dead.

Mohamed Merah, age 24, who said he would bring France to its knees, had a history of violence. Authorities report the man had a rap sheet recording as many as 18 acts of violence. He also is reported to have traveled to Afghanistan to fight with the Taliban.

There, five years ago, he was arrested and then escaped from an Afghan jail where he was incarcerated for possessing bomb-making equipment. His incarceration there was verified by Gulam Farooq, the director of Kandahar prison. The Afghan government denies that he was ever in an Afghan jail however.

Merah began these most recent violent acts on March 11th, 11 days ago. It began with him shooting a soldier in Toulouse. Four days later Merah would strike again, killing two soldiers in Montaubon. The most recent in the spate of violent attacks came on Monday when Merah attacked and killed four people in a Jewish school in Toulouse. Three of the four were children, the other was a Rabbi.

The killing of the soldiers, according to Merah, was for French military involvement in Afghanistan. The killing of the people in the Jewish school was in retaliation for the killing of Palestinian children. What incidence of killing Palestinian children is unknown.

French authorities began closing in on Merah when Merah went to a motorcycle dealership to inquire on how to disable the GPS tracker on his motorscooter. The scooter was reported as stolen and had been repainted. Authorities said that witnesses reported the gunman leaving the scene of two shootings on a similar bike.

It was that connection with the scooter, being sold by the first victim, that gave authorities the first large leads in the case. Tracing the IP address of the respondant to the soldier’s online selling ad, gave authorities direction. It is also reported that Merah was under serveillance prior to that, after his return from Afghanistan, this from Christian Etelin, a lawyer who represented Merah in a DWOL case last month.

Merah was described as very talkative during the stand-off that began on Wednesday morning at about 3 am. It was during that time that Merah aknowledged killing the seven people. He had told French authorities that he would give up on Wednesday night. This did not take place however. He did surrender one weapon during the stand-off but kept two more in his possession.

Today, when an elite French police squad broke into the apartment Merah was in, he was in the bathtub, according to reports. He remained there as the squad searched the apartment, then burst out guns blazing. Authorities say that in the intense firefight, Merah, wearing a bulletproof vest, then proceeded to a window, where, guns still firing at the police, Merah jumped to his death. He was shot in the head as he was jumping from the window.

Two officers were wounded during the stand-off.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy issued a statement to the French people, saying:

“The president of the Republic congratulates the security team following the conclusion of the tragic events of Montauban and Toulouse. Our thoughts at this time are with those who were killed and wounded by the alleged killer.”