Attack in France

Prisoner freed from van, prison guards dead

In France, three police officers died in an attack on a prison van.(Bild: AFP/Alain Jocard)

According to French media, three prison guards were killed in an attack on a prisoner transport in Normandy. A prisoner who was to be transferred from one prison to another has been freed and is on the run.

The van was ambushed at a toll station in the Eure region this morning, according to reports. There was an exchange of gunfire, after which the prisoner was able to flee with the attackers. In addition to the dead, three people were injured.

"All my thoughts are with the victims, their families and their colleagues," wrote Justice Minister Éric Dupond-Moretti on X. There is still no official information about the identity of the man who was killed. However, the newspaper "Le Parisien" writes of a man nicknamed "La Mouche" (the fly), who was behind bars for attempted murder and burglary. He is also said to be the leader of a drug gang.