Gunman kills 3 French police officers in domestic abuse standoff
PARIS — A gunman who had beaten and taken his partner hostage in southern France killed three police officers who came to her aid, and then he fled, prompting a wide manhunt, authorities said. The gunman was later found dead.
France’s interior minister, Gerard Darmanin, headed Wednesday to the scene, near the town of St.-Just, southwest of Lyon.
A woman called for police help after threats from her partner, a spokesman for the gendarme service told the Associated Press. After a lengthy standoff, three police officers were killed and another injured, and the gunman fled.
Some 300 police officers were sent to the area to search for him. He was found dead in circumstances that remain unclear, the spokesman said.
The gunman’s partner was taken into police care.
France’s Interior Ministry reported 146 women killed by their partners last year, which prompted a nationwide campaign against domestic violence.
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