Three French police officers were shot and killed by a suspect after they responded to a domestic violence call.
According to NBC News, the incident occurred at a home in Saint-Just, a remote commune in central France.
Saint-Just is approximately 300 miles south-east of Paris.
The domestic violence victim fled to the roof of the residence and was subsequently rescued by law enforcement.
Hommage.
Il s’appelaient Arno, Rémi et Cyrille.
RIP. pic.twitter.com/zVJybS6CTj— Association 911-17 (French police association) (@asso91117) December 23, 2020
A source told the Daily Mail that two officers had initially approached the house just after midnight, with the woman ‘screaming for help’ on the roof as they arrived.
As they neared the house, gunfire broke out in ‘circumstances which are yet to be clarified,’ a statement from the interior ministry said.
Mavel was killed in an initial shootout with the gunman before Morel and Dupuis were also shot dead as they approached the house in response.
The three gendarme officers killed in the incident were aged 21, 37, and 45, the interior ministry said in a statement.
President Emmanuel Macron led tributes to the officers, saying ‘the nation joins the grief of the families’ and adding that ‘our security forces risk their lives to protect us… they are our heroes’.
The 48-year-old suspect was described by local media as a former soldier. he was found dead in his car hours later after a suspected suicide.
