France prison van attack: Manhunt for escaped prisoner enters second day
Several police officers have been dispatched to Normandy to search for Mohamed Amra, who fled from a police van transporting him to jail on Tuesday.
Amra, also known as “The Fly”, was being transported back from a court hearing in Rouen when a car collided with the prison van at a toll booth. Subsequently, armed individuals fired upon the vehicle, resulting in the tragic deaths of two prison officers.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin emphasized the exhaustive efforts underway to locate the perpetrators, stating, “All means are being used to find these criminals.” Around 200 gendarmes were mobilized on Tuesday, conducting vehicle checks in strategic locations.
President Emmanuel Macron affirmed the government’s commitment to apprehending those responsible, asserting, “everything is being done to find the perpetrators.”
According to Paris state prosecutor Laure Beccuau, the incident occurred just before 11:00 local time (09:00 BST) on Tuesday when the van carrying Amra crossed the toll barrier in Incarville, Eure region.
A Peugeot vehicle collided with it, followed by armed individuals from both a Peugeot and an Audi, who proceeded to fire upon the vehicles, resulting in casualties, and then absconded with Amra.
The prosecutor noted that two vehicles suspected to have been used by the assailants were discovered burned in separate locations later that day.
Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti informed reporters that one of the slain officers, leaving behind a wife and two children, was on the verge of celebrating their 21st birthday in two days. The second officer, aged 34, leaves behind a pregnant wife.
Additionally, three other officers were wounded in the attack. Ms. Beccuau mentioned that the injured officers, aged 48, 52, and 55 respectively, are also fathers.
“Everything – and I mean everything – will be put in place to find the perpetrators of this vile crime,” Mr. Dupond-Moretti said, adding that the perpetrators were “people for whom life has no value”.
They will be found and punished “in a way that is proportionate to the crime”, the justice minister added.
Amra was convicted of burglary on 10 May and had been indicted by prosecutors in Marseille for a kidnapping that led to a death.
His lawyer, Hugues Vigier, told French news channel BFMTV “he would like to believe that he [Amra] didn’t know about the plan to free him”.
“For me, this plan doesn’t match with what I know of him. If he’s behind it then I failed to understand who he is,” Mr Vigier added.
According to some French media reports, Amra had tried to escape his prison cell earlier this week by trying to see the cell’s bars.
Ms Beccuau, the capital’s state prosecutor, told a news conference Amra had 13 convictions, with the first one dating back to October 2009 – when he was 15 years old.
Although the now 30-year-old was not a “closely watched inmate”, the Paris prosecutor said his transportation required a “level three escort”.
Amra is said to have ties to a gang in the southern city of Marseille, which has been plagued by drug-related gang violence.
But his criminal record to date does not contain any convictions for drug offenses, the Paris prosecutor said on Tuesday.
