A convicted gangster identified as Mohamed Amra was snatched from a prison convoy in an “attack of incredible violence” by four gunmen, leaving two officers dead and three injured.
Four gunmen in two cars ambushed a convoy of government vehicles transporting a convicted criminal from court back to prison in France on Tuesday morning. France’s Le Parisien reports the focus of the jailbreak is 30-year-old Mohamed Amra, whose street name is ‘The Fly’.
The man is reported to have been convicted of burglary on May 10th and was also facing charges of “kidnapping… leading to death” and “attempted homicide by an organized gang”. Per that newspaper’s police sources, he is “described as being at the head of a narcotics network”. Further, Amra is reported to have attempted a jail break last week, and had already been placed under enhanced security.
The attack on the prison officers transporting Amra from a court in Rouen and Évreux prison has been described as a commando-raid and saw two vehicles ambush the convoy at a toll road pay booth. Images from the scene show a black car having rammed the lead vehicle head-on.
The getaway vehicle was quickly abandoned and burnt, the occupants believed to have transferred to a third, unknown vehicle.
A forensic is at work at the site of a ramming attack which took place late morning at a road toll in Incarville in the Eure region of northern France, on May 14, 2024. Two French prison officers were killed and two others wounded on May 14 in an attack on a prison van transporting an inmate who escaped, a police source told AFP. (Photo by ALAIN JOCARD / AFP) (Photo by ALAIN JOCARD/AFP via Getty Images)
Police officers gather at the site of a ramming attack which took place late morning at a road toll in Incarville in the Eure region of northern France, on May 14, 2024. Two French prison officers were killed and two others wounded on May 14 in an attack on a prison van transporting an inmate who escaped, a police source told AFP. (Photo by ALAIN JOCARD / AFP) (Photo by ALAIN JOCARD/AFP via Getty Images)
Police officers load of a burnt-out escape car that had been used during a ramming attack which took place late morning at a Incarville’s road toll, in Gauville-la-Campagne, in the Eure region of northern France, on May 14, 2024. Two French prison officers were killed and two others wounded on May 14 in an attack on a prison van transporting an inmate who escaped, a police source told AFP. (Photo by Alain JOCARD / AFP) (Photo by ALAIN JOCARD/AFP via Getty Images)
Video footage allegedly of the attack, shared by a member of Parliament on X/Twitter, show hoodie-wearing men carrying long guns. In the background of the video, apparently shot by a member of the public witnessing the slaying of prison officers from a passenger coach, laughter can be heard.
The French National Office for the Fight against Organized Crime has now taken over the investigation, on potential charges of “murder and attempted murder by an organized gang… acquisition and possession of weapons of war, criminal conspiracy with a view to the commission of a crime”.
Several government figures have decried the attack, including French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal who called it an “attack of incredible violence” by “brutal” perpetrators. He revealed that in addition to the two prison officers who had died — both fathers, and one of them leaving a five month pregnant wife — three others were injured, including two in critical, life-threatening condition.
President Emmanuel Macron said: “Everything is being done to find the perpetrators of this crime so that justice can be done in the name of the French people” while Minister of Justice Éric Dupond-Moretti said the lives of the perpetrators was now “worth nothing” and they would soon be punished, reports Le Figaro.
The French state has activated a special state of emergency — Operation Sparrowhawk — allowing officers to be freed up from other duties to aid in the hunt for the escaped convict and his gunman liberators. Hundereds of officers are reported to be searching.
This story is developing