A fugitive and armed gang are being pursued after attacking a convoy of prison services in Normandy, northern France, on Tuesday morning. Two officers were killed in the attack. A few days ago, an inmate tried to escape from the jail by cutting the cell wires.
A police vehicle was attacked around midday at a tollbooth on the A154 motorway as a prisoner was being transferred between a prison and a court in the Eure department in Normandy.
Photos appeared on social media showing two masked and armed men and a car that crashed head-on into a prison ambulance, stopping the vehicle. The attack was carried out in full view of drivers of other cars, some of whom filmed it. Two officers were killed and three others were seriously injured in the attack.
read more: It was hidden on the van. Two people were killed and one prisoner escaped
Two French prison officers were killed in the attackReuters
The hunt continues on Wednesday. Authorities have mobilized around 200 gendarmes and vehicle checks are being carried out at key locations, the BBC reported. – French Interior Minister Gérald Dormanin assured that all means are being used to catch these criminals.
Ambush in prison vanALAIN JOCARD/AFP/East News
Who is the fugitive?
The fugitive was identified as 30-year-old Mohamed Amra, alias “Mucha”. He is a drug dealer in the north, according to the Paris prosecutor’s office and police sources. France, but has ties to drug gangs in Marseille. As “Le Monde” writes, Amrah is not a “big fish” but a “medium, independent and opportunistic” player.
On May 10, a court in Evreux sentenced him to 18 months in prison. It is also suspected that the person may have died due to kidnapping.
The 30-year-old was serving a sentence at Val de Reuil prison in Normandy – according to local media – before escaping and appearing in a nearby court on the new charges.
Mohammed AmraAFP/EastNews
Attorney Laura Becua said Amra was not a “closely monitored inmate,” unlike inmates considered more dangerous. Despite this, the BBC explains that the 30-year-old’s transport required “level three escort”, meaning the convoy was guarded by five prison officers.
Amra’s lawyer, Hughes Vizier, told BFM TV that “the brutality of the attack on the convoy was inconsistent with the character of the man he knew”.
On Sunday, Amra tried to escape from prison by cutting the wires of his cell, Reuters reported.
Main photo source: AFP/EastNews