A man was arrested early Tuesday morning after barricading himself in his home and then firing on police when they intervened in Blessy, Pas-de-Calais, according to police sources.
The man, who is known to have a history of heavy drinking and lives with his parents, started smashing everything inside the house at around 02:00 Monday 25 December. When police were called to the property, the man shut himself in his room and fired his rifle at police, leaving three officers with minor injuries, Hauts-de-France police informed AFP.
To attend the scene, “Around fifty police officers were on rotation since just after midnight,” the police said. The man’s shots lightly injured three officers: one was hit in the eyebrow, another in the arm, and the third in the thigh.
A negotiation process was initiated by specialist teams called in from Reims and subsequently taken over by the Parisian GIGN contingent.
The man has been confirmed as a former police officer, AFP learnt from the local mayor, Jean-Marc Furgerot. The 38-year-old is known for heavy drinking and a previous suicide attempt. Summarising the events, Furgerot said: “he lives with his parents, wrecked the house and then barricaded himself in his upstairs room.”
