France shooting: three police officers shot dead

Police launched a manhunt after the gunman opened fire after midnight in Puy-de-Dome.

Responding reports of a domestic violence incident, three police officers have been shot dead and a fourth injured in France. Police launched a manhunt after the gunman opened fire after midnight in Puy-de-Dome, central France. Officers found the suspected of France shooting dead at shortly before 9 am in local time.

France shooting: three police officers shot dead

It happened after police got a call about a woman being intimidated by her husband over child custody. In those circumstances, two officers had shot by a 48-year-old man as they tried to surround the house.

At the same time, the woman herself escaped to the roof for safety and later rescued. One of them died of his injuries and a second hurried to hospital suffering from a shot wound to the thigh.

About the event, an investigating source said: “A woman was on the roof screaming for help, and as two gendarmes got close, a man opened fire, killing one officer instantly.

Another was hit in the thigh and rushed to the hospital, where he subsequently died. More officers then arrived, and a man set fire to the house.”

The source also added that the woman managed to escape, but then there was more shooting, in which another gendarme died, and a fourth was injured. Later, the shooter found dead and is thought to have shot himself.

The dead police officers were aged 21, 37 and 45, the French Interior Ministry confirmed. The shooter had a history of child custody disputes with his wife. Moreover, the house has reportedly been damaged in the blaze.

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