Three gendarmes were shot dead by a madman in the Puy-de-Dôme, this Wednesday, December 23, 2020. The shooter's companion, she was able to be sheltered.
It was a probable attempted feminicide, as spectacular as it was abominable, which claimed the lives of three gendarmes on 23 December. Near the hamlet of Saint-Just, in Puy-de-Dôme, the gendarmerie intervened after midnight after being called for acts of domestic violence. When law enforcement arrived, the threatened woman had taken refuge on the roof to escape her attacker, who had set the home on fire.
Authorities said the man opened fire on the gendarmes. Two of them were killed instantly, another died from his injuries and a fourth was shot. The woman was finally brought to safety. While firefighters attempted to control the blaze, the house was completely destroyed by the fire. After a search, the perpetrator was found dead in his car.
The Puy-de-Dôme prefecture notes that the gendarmerie operation was part of a framework of serious intra-family tensions. Indeed, the man was known for acts of domestic violence and there was a dispute over the custody of the couple's children. The madman owned weapons of war (one of which had a night-vision scope) and was a sports marksman. Some of his weapons were undeclared.
See also: "No, an abusive spouse cannot be a good father"
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Beyond the legitimate emotion aroused by this drama, it is also an opportunity to recall some figures and facts. In cases of domestic violence that end fatally, 84% of victims within the couple are women. 41% of these were already subjected to violence from their companion before being killed. Finally, when discussing feminicides or attempted feminicides, it is most of the time incorrect to use the expression "died under the blows of her spouse". In general, the deaths of these women are indeed not accidental, but are premeditated and planned. The logic of the aggressor being that of "rather dead than free", and the crime unfairly qualified as "passionate" remaining a matter of the appropriation of women by men.
In addition, according to AFP and figures from the Ministry of the Interior, about a third of the murderous spouses of their wives commit suicide.