An explosion sounded when the soldiers entered a house in La Chapelle, in the south of the department, to arrest a 38-year-old man.
By VP with AFP
© XOSE BOUZAS / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP
Published on
– Modified
Subscriber-only audio playback
TKings gendarmes were seriously injured and a man they had come to arrest died in the explosion of a house, this Wednesday, in La Chapelle, in the south of the department of Allier, indicated the public prosecutor de Cusset, Eric Neveu. The vital prognosis of one of the three soldiers is engaged, he said. “The gendarmes entered the house shortly before 1 p.m. Wednesday to make the arrest and, for an undetermined reason, an explosion occurred,” he detailed.
Two gendarmes were evacuated by helicopter to the Lyon hospital center specializing in severe burns. The third, more slightly affected, was transported to the Clermont-Ferrand hospital center (Puy-de-Dôme), said the Allier prefecture in a press release. Three other gendarmes, who intervened to extract their comrades from the house, were more slightly injured.
READ ALSORetirement of civil servants: the blind spot of the reform
Gasoline odors
The 38-year-old man was “very unfavorably known to the police”, continued the prosecutor. He was to be arrested for threats and insults to prison staff, because he was on probation.
“Was he expecting the gendarmes? Had he planned to kill himself by killing gendarmes? We do not know for the moment the exact circumstances of this explosion but there were a priori smells of gasoline (during the explosion). The roof of the house is completely destroyed,” said Mr. Neveu.
“This individual had uttered threats the day before against a person holding public authority under the Ministry of Justice. When they arrived on the spot, the gendarmes arrested the respondent and then noticed a very strong smell of gasoline. A violent explosion ensued, setting the house ablaze,” said the Allier prefecture.
READ ALSO“I will probably die before the end of my mandate”
Open court proceedings
An investigation for “attempted homicide on a person holding public authority” was entrusted to the research section of the Clermont-Ferrand gendarmerie.
The departmental fire and rescue service of Allier (Sdis 03) deployed 57 men and 27 vehicles. The gendarmerie dispatched 13 additional soldiers and technical and scientific police resources were being sent in the afternoon.
This drama is a reminder of the death of three gendarmes in neighboring Puy-de-Dôme in similar circumstances a little over two years ago. On the night of December 22 to 23, 2020, Frédérik L., 48, shot dead three gendarmes and seriously injured a fourth as they intervened to rescue the extremist’s companion.