Armed assailants attacked a convoy transporting prisoner Mohamed Amra, nicknamed “La Mouche” (The Fly), in Normandy, killing two French prison officers and injuring three others, Associated Press reports.
The convoy was en route to Évreux jail after a court hearing in Rouen when it was attacked on the A154 freeway. Amra escaped during the ambush. The area has been closed off as authorities conduct a search for the assailants and the escaped inmate. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin mobilized hundreds of police officers and gendarmes to search for the assailants. French President Emmanuel Macron expressed shock at the incident.
Amra had been detained at the Val de Reuil prison center near Rouen following his recent sentencing for burglary. Additionally, he was under investigation for a kidnapping and homicide case in Marseille, according to public prosecutor Laure Beccuau.
