A culture-enriching “French” entrepreneur nicknamed “The Fly” was sprung from police custody by associates equipped with automatic weapons. Two police guards were killed in the process, and several others were wounded. The Fly is now at large.

Many thanks to Gary Fouse for translating this article from Le Figaro (including late updates):

Prison van attacked in Eure: What we know about the deadly attack

by Esther Paolini
May 14, 2024

The attacked van was transporting Mohamed Amra, nicknamed “The Fly”, a criminal who was closely guarded, most notably convicted of “attempted homicide”. A manhunt is underway to find him.

A major manhunt is in progress to locate several fugitives, including Mohamed Amra, a particularly dangerous prisoner, who escaped in the fatal attack on the prison van that was transporting him near Évreux in Normandy.

At this stage, the attack, carried out with heavy weapons has left at least two dead among the corrections officers, according to a statement from the judicial tribunal in Paris. According to our information, the officers, one born in 1989 and the other in 1972, were working in the court transport center in Caen. “One of them leaves behind a wife and two children, who were to celebrate their 21st anniversary in two days,” stated Eric Dupond-Moretti. “The other leaves behind a 5-months pregnant wife, relatives and friends.” Three other officers are seriously wounded, one of whose condition is critical, and two are hospitalized in relative urgency.

In total, the escort was comprised of five officers, divided between a van and a utility vehicle, a prison source informs us. In a video disseminated on social media, we see at least five men dressed entirely in black firing military weapons at the two vehicles.

Attack on prison van in Eure: Two officers killed, one prisoner escaped

Tuesday, 14 May, the transport van between Évreux and Rouen, the prisoner escaped

The attack took place shortly after 11:00 at the Incarville toll stop.

Not a “particularly notable prisoner”

The attack happened as the prisoner, born in 1994, and sentenced on May 10, 2024 by the Évreux court for burglary, had been removed from his cell at the Évreux Detention Center to appear before an investigating judge at the Rouen Judicial Tribunal in connection with a criminal procedure in which he had been charged for attempted murder. The escape occurred at 10:57 on return from this hearing, at the Incarville toll station. The van was struck from the front by a stolen vehicle, which had passed the same toll station a few minutes earlier, according to a statement by the Paris Prosecutor’s office. Several armed persons came out from a second vehicle that was following the convoy, thus blocking all possibility of escape. The thugs then opened fire with several rounds at the two prison vehicles, the prosecutor’s office states.

The man was not a particularly high-profile prisoner (DPS), but his profile “necessitated a level 3 escort,” stated the Paris national prosecutor.

After abandoning the vehicle used in the attack, apparently, a Peugeot 5008, they reportedly fled in a white Audi A5 and a series 5 BMW. The two vehicles were subsequently discovered burned, one in the municipality of Vatteville, the other near the hospital of Évreux. One of the attackers was also wounded.

Also according to our information, the fugitive Mohamed Amra, nicknamed “The Fly”, is reportedly originally from the La Sablière quarter of Rouen. He already has several criminal convictions to his credit, notably for “drug trafficking” and “attempted homicide”. On the other hand, he had not been classified as a radicalized prisoner.