Hundreds of police officers are searching for a prisoner in north-west France, after he escaped from a van in a deadly ambush near Rouen
Mohamed Amra was being taken from court to a prison when a car rammed the prison van at a toll booth
Gunmen then attacked the prison officers, with two officers killed and two critically injured
Amra and his accomplices reportedly escaped in a car, with a burnt out vehicle found nearby
He was recently convicted of burglary and had been charged with a kidnapping that led to a death
Image source, GoogleA toll booth on the A154 motorway in Normandy
Some more lines on the initial attack on the prison van.
A police source tells the AFP agency that "several individuals" arrived in two vehicles, rammed the van, then fled.
One of the attackers was wounded.
We also know from the French justice minister that, after the ramming, the attackers used "heavy weapons" to shoot at prison officers.
A source close to the case, speaking to the AFP news agency in France, says the escaped inmate is called "Mohamed A", born in 1994.
French newspaper Le Figaro says he is nicknamed "La Mouche", external - the Fly - and has several criminal convictions for drug offences and attempted homicide.
The French authorities have not confirmed the prisoner's name - we'll bring you more when we have it.
Image source, EPAHere's more from the French justice minister's media statement.
Eric Dupond-Moretti says during a transfer from a courthouse to a prison in Rouen, a man escaped, and his accomplices "didn't hesitate to shoot the prison officers using heavy weapons".
He says the two killed officers both had families - as we reported in the previous post.
Dupond-Moretti says he is now heading to Caen to meet the colleagues of the killed officers.
"My thoughts are with the other three seriously wounded officers who are now hospitalised," he says.
"Everything - and I mean everything - will be put in place to find the perpetrators of this vile crime. [The perpetrators] are people for whom life has no value. They will be found and punished in a way proportionate to the crime."
We're getting more details now from Eric Dupond-Moretti, the French justice minister.
He says one of the killed officers leaves behind a wife and two children, and the other leaves a wife who is five months pregnant.
We'll have more key lines soon.
French President Emmanuel Macron says the attack this morning is a "shock to us all".
Writing on X, he says: , external"The nation stands alongside the families, the injured and their colleagues.
"Everything is being done to find the perpetrators of this crime so that justice can be done in the name of the French people."
Writing on X, French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin says: "All means are being employed to find these criminals. On my instructions, several hundred police officers and gendarmes have been mobilised."
The ambush took place around 11:00 (09:00 GMT) near a toll booth on the A154 motorway near Rouen, Normandy.
The attack was carried out by several individuals who approached the prison convoy in two vehicles, the AFP news agency reports.
Unconfirmed reports in French media say the detainee and the attackers escaped in a car that was later found burnt out nearby.
Two officers were killed, and three others severely injured.
Hundreds of police are involved in the manhunt.
Welcome to our live coverage on news from France that at least two prison officers have been killed in an ambush on a prison van.
A police source tells French media the inmate who was being transported has escaped, together with the attackers.
This is a developing story so stay with us.