A man entrenched at his home with a rifle fired at gendarmes, without injuring them, Monday, October 25 in the evening north of Lyon, before being arrested by the GIGN early Tuesday morning, AFP learned from the prosecution.
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The facts occurred in Ardillats (Rhône), a village in Beaujolais.
The arrest by the elite unit of the gendarmerie of this 66-year-old man took place around 5.30 am, "
smoothly
", told AFP the prosecutor of the Republic of Villefranche-sur- Saône, Laëtitia Francart.
He had since been in police custody for "
attempted murder of a person holding public authority
".
According to the regional daily
Le Progrès
, the man left his home after a family dispute, armed with a rifle and making disturbing remarks, according to neighbors, who alerted the police.
Tracked by a gendarmerie helicopter in the countryside, the man then took refuge at his home in the early evening, before firing on the police.
The 60-year-old, who was not previously known for acts of violence, did not hurt, added Laëtitia Francart.
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Gendarmes have been targeted several times in recent months in France, while they intervened to apprehend madmen, some of whom were injured or killed by the military response.
At the end of 2020 in Puy-de-Dôme, on the contrary, it was three gendarmes who had been shot dead by a man they were trying to arrest after domestic violence.
