By Nur Asena Erturk
Two prison officers were killed on Tuesday in northern France in an attack on a penitentiary van that was transferring an inmate, according to reports.
The suspects ambushed and attacked the van near the tollbooths of Incarville in the north. They got the inmate free, and killed two prison guards, broadcaster BFMTV said.
Three other guards were severely injured, France's Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti told reporters after a crisis unit meeting. He vowed firm efforts to find the suspects and to bring them to justice.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said that hundreds of officers were deployed to find the fugitives.
President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X that the attack was a “shock.”
“The Nation stands with the families, the injured, and their coworkers,” he added and vowed efforts to find the suspects.
The inmate attended a hearing in the city of Rouen in the morning and was on the way back to prison in the neighboring town of Evreux where he was detained.