Once again, France is reeling. Today, a prisoner named Mohamed Amra was being transported from court to prison in a police van in northern France when the van was attacked at a toll booth by several masked men dressed in black combat fatigues. When it was over, two guards were dead, three wounded, and the prisoner escaped. Now a massive manhunt is underway in the country.
The below article from today's Le Figaro, is translated by Fousesquawk. The entire incident was captured on security cameras and is contained in the same article (with no sound). As is their custom, many French news outlets are identifying the escapee only as Mohamed A. CNN, meanwhile, is consciously omitting his name entirely. I guess even prison escapees are entitled to their privacy. (The link was subsequently updated to include his name.)
In the interest of time, I am posting the first couple of paragraphs of the Le Figaro article, and will complete it later in the day. As this is still breaking news, the article is being updated by Le Figaro.
Prison van attacked in Eure: What we know about the deadly attack
By Esther Paolini
Posted 7 hours ago. Updated 5 minutes ago
The attacked van was transporting Mohamed Amra, nickname, "The Fly", a criminal who was closely guarded, most notably convicted of "attempted homicide". A manhunt is in progress to find him.
A major manhunt is in progress to locate several fugitives including Mohamed Amra, a particularly dangerous prisoner, who escaped in the fatal attack on the prison van which was transporting him near Évreux in Normandy.
At this stage, the attack, carried out with heavy weapons has left at least two dead among the corrections officers, according to a statement from the judicial tribunal in Paris. According to our information, the officers, one born in 1989 and the other in 1972, were working in the court transport center in Caen. "One of them leaves behind a wife and two children who were to celebrate their 21st anniversary in two days," stated (Minister of Justice) Eric Dupond-Moretti. "The other leaves behind a 5-month pregnant wife, relatives and friends". Three other officers are seriously wounded, one of whose condition is critical, and two are hospitalized in relative urgency.
In total, the escort was comprised of 5 officers, divided between a van and a utility vehicle, a prison source informs us. In a video disseminated on social media, we see at least 5 men, dressed entirely in black, firing military weapons at the two vehicles.
Attack on prison van in Eure: Two officers killed, one prisoner escaped
Tuesday, 14 May, the transport van between Evreux and Rouen, the prisoner escaped
The attack took place shortly after 11:00 at the Incarville toll stop.
Not a "particularly notable prisoner"
The attack happened as the prisoner, born in 1994, and sentenced on May 10, 2024 by the Evreux court for burglary, had been removed from his cell at the Evreux Detention Center to appear before an investigating judge at the Rouen Judicial Tribunal in connection with a criminal procedure in which he had been charged for attempted murder. The escape occurred at 10:57 on return from this hearing, at the Incarville toll station. The van was struck from the front by a stolen vehicle, which had passed the same toll station a few minutes earlier, according to a statement by the Paris Prosecutor's office. Several armed persons came out from a second vehicle that was following the convoy, thus blocking all possibility of escape. The thugs then opened fire with several shots at the two prison vehicles, the prosecutor's office states.
The man was not a particularly high-profile prisoner (DPS), but his profile, "necessitated a level 3 escort," stated the Paris national prosecutor.
After having abandoned the vehicle used in the attack, apparently, a Peugeot 5008, they reportedly fled in a white Audi A5 and a series 5 BMW. The two vehicles were subsequently discovered burned, one in the municipality of Vatteville, the other near the hospital of Evreux. One of the attackers was also wounded.
Also according to our information, the fugitive, Mohamed Amra, nickname, "The Fly", is reportedly originally from the La Sabliere quarter of Rouen. He already has several criminal convictions to his credit, notably, for "drug traffic" and "attempted homicide". On the other hand, he had not been classified as a radicalized prisoner.
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(Translator's note) The above article has just been updated, and the above link is now dramatically different from what has been translated to this point.
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