Paris ( CNN ) -- Two French soldiers died and a third was critically injured after being shot by a black-clad man wearing a motorcycle helmet in the southwestern French city of Montauban , the French Defense Ministry said Thursday . The defense ministry corrected its earlier report that all three soldiers had died . `` The last one is not dead , but he is in a very bad state , '' said ministry spokeswoman Natalie Neveu . The third soldier was hospitalized in Toulouse , she said . Two of the soldiers , aged 24 and 26 , died at the scene of the shooting , officials said earlier . The three soldiers were at a commercial center when the man approached them , pulled a gun and started firing , city police commander Charles Cauquil told CNN . The police and army were seeking the shooter , who fled the scene after the attack . The three soldiers belonged to the 17th parachute regiment stationed in Montauban , a Defense Ministry spokesman said . The judiciary police in Toulouse were investigating the shooting , Cauquil said . Montauban , capital of the Tarn-et-Garonne area , is about 50 kilometers ( 31 miles ) from Toulouse . CNN 's Per Nyberg , Stephanie Halasz , Pierre Meilhan and Dheepthi Namasivayam contributed to this report .
NEW : French Defense Ministry corrects earlier report that all three soldiers died . NEW : The third soldier is `` in a very bad state , '' ministry spokeswoman says . By Reuters and AFP PARIS, May 24 (Reuters) - Authorities are hunting the shooter , who fled the scene in Montauban , France .