Dusseldorf/Paris, Dec 27, (dpa/GNA) – German police have arrested an escaped French prisoner and his suspected accomplice, the Dusseldorf prosecutor’s office said on Monday.
The 28-year-old man, accused by French authorities of homicide, was found near the city of Moenchengladbach on Sunday. The suspected female accomplice is thought to have played an active role in his escape, the prosecutor’s spokesperson added.
The man was being taken from prison to a hospital in the Paris area after a faked suicide attempt on Tuesday, French broadcaster BFMTV reported.
In the parking lot, his partner allegedly intercepted the transport, threatened officers with a hunting rifle and demanded the man’s release.
The female, who is believed to be under 18, fired but the officers in their bulletproof vests were only slightly injured, BFMTV reported, citing police.
According to the report, analysis of cell phone data led investigators to Germany. The couple had been traveling in a van registered in France and still carried the hunting weapon with ammunition.
The man had already been convicted several times in France, including for acts of violence, but had not been classified as especially dangerous.
Since the beginning of October, he had been in custody in connection with the death of an 18-year-old.
GNA