At least two prison officers were killed Tuesday in northern France after armed assailants ambushed a convoy at a toll booth and freed an inmate, French authorities said.
Éric Dupond-Moretti, French Minister of Justice, he said on social media platform X that three other prison officers were seriously injured in the episode, which occurred near Incarville, a town in the Eure area north-west of Paris.
President Emmanuel Macron said the attack was a “shock for all of us”.
“The nation stands alongside the families, the injured and their colleagues,” he said said about X.
Gérald Darmanin, French Interior Minister, said about X that “hundreds” of police officers had been deployed to arrest the escaped prisoner and the attackers who had freed them.
“Everything possible is being done to find these criminals,” Darmanin said.
Alexandre Rassaërt, president of the Eure city council, declared in a declaration that he was “shuddered with horror to learn of the carnage that had taken place”.
“I sincerely hope that the assassin commando who perpetrated this bloody attack will be arrested quickly,” he said.