Shots fired at police officers in Guadeloupe: five suspects remanded in custody, GIGN reinforcements announced
Five men, including a 16-year-old minor, have been charged with attempted murder of law enforcement officers in Guadeloupe. GIGN reinforcements are expected until Christmas.
Five charged after shots fired at law enforcement officers in Abymes and Sainte-Anne
Five men, including a 16-year-old adolescent, have been charged and remanded in custody between Monday and Wednesday in two separate cases involving shots fired at law enforcement officers in Guadeloupe, according to lefigaro.fr citing the Pointe-à-Pitre public prosecutor's office. The suspects belong to "two teams of armed robbers", according to Caroline Calbo, public prosecutor for Pointe-à-Pitre, who spoke during a press conference held at the courthouse in the presence of police and gendarmerie representatives.
First case: AR-15 rifle seized in Pointe-à-Pitre
In the first case, a 44-year-old man was remanded in custody on Monday following his police custody period. He is suspected of belonging to a group that "opened fire on gendarmes who were attempting to arrest them" on 3 October in Sainte-Anne, then on police officers on 8 October in Pointe-à-Pitre. The charges against him include attempted murder of a public authority officer, armed robbery and possession of Category A and B weapons. An AR-15 assault rifle was seized at the time of his arrest.
Second case: two GIGN gendarmes wounded in Abymes
In the second part, three men in their twenties and the 16-year-old minor were charged on Wednesday and remanded in custody for attempted murder of public authority officers, armed robbery and possession of weapons. In the night from Saturday to Sunday, two GIGN gendarmes had been wounded during an operation aimed at intercepting this group in the municipality of Abymes, in the centre of the island—an area regularly affected by criminal acts. Investigations are continuing in both cases; the suspects face life imprisonment.
A new threshold crossed in armed violence
Prosecutor Calbo stated that "a threshold has been crossed" in violence, noting that deliberate shots fired at law enforcement officers had previously been rare, despite a high level of armed criminality in the archipelago. General Christophe Perret, commander of the Guadeloupe gendarmerie, announced the arrival of "reinforcements expected until Christmas", consisting of "approximately ten people" from the GIGN or the National Judicial Police Unit.
The authorities are also alerting to massive circulation of weapons linked to drug trafficking in the French West Indies, which they say have become a preferred transit point between South America, the United States and Europe.
Source: Google News GP — Crime