PARIS - After being suspected of killing three police officers in central France, a man has been found dead as confirmed by the Interior Minister of the country.
In the early hours of Wednesday, after responding to a domestic violence incident in Puy-de-Dôme, three gendarmes were shot dead while the fourth one has been injured.
The alleged shooter left the scene, which prompted the French authorities a manhunt and on the morning of Wednesday, the Minister of the Interior Gerald Darmanin confirmed in a tweet that the madman was found dead.
The suspected gunman was known to the law enforcement for non-payment of child maintenance, based on an information by an official in the prosecutor's office in the nearby city of Clermont-Ferrand.
On early Wednesday, the minister released a statement expressing deep sadness in a statement following the deaths of Brigadier Arno Mavel, Warrant Officer Rémi Dupuis, and Lieutenant Cyril Morel, of the Puy-de-Dôme Departmental Gendarmerie, as they were killed after intervening a domestic violence.
According to a report from the CNN, the police officers were fatally shot by a 48-year-old man as they tried to rescue a woman who had taken refuge on the roof of a house.
The report also mentioned that the house was set alight but the woman was rescued.
On the other hand, further details which surrounded the death of the suspect have not yet been released.
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The Interior Minister also shared in his statement that the gendarmes were called upon to help a woman who had been beaten by her husband, the gendarmes or the French police officers, in circumstances that are still unclear as of the moment, were shot by the man and returned fire.
Based on the statement of the 21-year-old officer, Marvel, who was seriously wounded and succumbed to his injuries.
The two other officers who carried out a reconnaissance towards the house were in turn caught in gunfire.
The two officers who were fatally wounded were identified as the 37-year-old officer Dupuis and the 45-yar-old officer Morel.
The fourth officer who responded in the domestic violence was wounded in the thigh is currently taken care of by the emergency services and based on the latest update, the life of the officer is no longer in danger, Reuters reported.
Darmanin also mentioned in his tweet that the gendarmerie had lost three of its own as the nation bows before their courage and devotion.
The French Prime Minister Jean Castex tweeted that this tragedy affects everyone as the whole country grieves.
Moreover, the mayor of Saint-Just, François Chautard, shared that the incident appeared to have started with a dispute in the family and that the armed gendarmerie units had been sent to the scene in order to assist the evacuation of the nearby residents and secure the area, The Guardian reported.
Emmanuel Marcon, the President of France stated in his tweet that the nation joins in the grief of the families of the gendarmes.
He also mentioned that the forces act to protect the lives of many while risking their lives, they are heroes.
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