Loire: the alleged perpetrators of an armed robbery arrested

Several criminals suspected of having opened fire during the robbery of a jewelry store in a supermarket in Andrézieux-Bouthéon (Loire) last June were arrested on Thursday in the Loire and placed in police custody, a-t- we learned this Friday, September 30 from concordant sources.

The deputy public prosecutor of Saint-Étienne, André Merle, confirmed the information to AFP, but did not wish to specify the number of suspects arrested.

Four people had participated in this armed robbery.

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More than sixty gendarmes, including several GIGN units, were mobilized Thursday morning to arrest the suspects at their homes in Saint-Étienne and Saint-Chamond (Loire), who all have criminal records, AFP told AFP. a source close to the investigation.

Their police custody, which was extended Friday morning, can last up to four days as part of this investigation for "

".

The alleged robbers had temporarily found refuge in Algeria after the armed robbery committed on Saturday June 18 in a jewelry carousel in a shopping center in the Saint-Etienne agglomeration.

Hooded criminals

Around 9:00 a.m., they had fired several times with their handguns, without the projectiles reaching those present, to recover one of them intercepted by security guards from the Leclerc hypermarket when they were leaving. fled with the spoils.

Customers present at the time of the robbery had filmed with their smartphones and broadcast on social networks the scene where we see hooded criminals dressed in black go back and open fire to release their accomplice held by security guards.

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Two people were slightly injured in the stampede that followed the shooting, while four others, shocked, were taken to Saint-Étienne University Hospital.

The car used by the criminals was found a few tens of minutes later, burnt down in a district of Saint-Étienne.