The radio and television show host was robbed in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday by four men in his home in Yvelines. The criminals are on the run.
Host Bruno Guillon and his family were kidnapped by burglars during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday at their home in Tessancourt-sur-Aubette (Yvelines), franceinfo learned this Wednesday from the Versailles prosecutor’s office, confirming information from the newspaper The Parisian. Here’s what we know.
What happened ?
According to a source close to the case, four people entered Bruno Guillon’s home around 3:30 a.m. on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday September 27. This house is located in the village of Tessancourt-sur-Aubette, on the border of Yvelines and Val-d’Oise, to the west of Paris. The town, where agricultural areas are very numerous, is home to just over a thousand inhabitants.
According to the first elements of the investigation, the criminals broke a window in a guest bedroom, located on the ground floor. Once inside, they went to the room of Bruno Guillon and his wife. It was Bruno Guillon himself who called the police around 3:45 a.m., just after the burglars had left: the host then explains that he was threatened with a handgun at his temple, while his wife, she was tied up and gagged, under threat of a hammer. The burglars also moved into their 14-year-old son’s bedroom, where they tied the child with a serflex, a cable tie. The couple, who did not suffer physical violence, are in a state of shock.
What were the criminals looking for?
After their misdeed carried out in just a few minutes, the four individuals left with watches, luxury bags and jewelry and money, after opening a safe in the house. According to a source close to the investigation, the exact damage is not yet known and is being evaluated. It is impossible for the moment to determine, however, whether the criminals knew that the former host of the Z’amours on France 2 lived there, just as if they had carried out scouting in advance.
According to the Versailles public prosecutor’s office, contacted by franceinfo, the city’s judicial police have been informed of the investigation opened for “armed robbery by an organized gang” and “kidnapping”. The four burglars are still on the run this Wednesday.
What is homejacking?
If today we are talking about a “home-jacking” in this case, and not a burglary, it is above all because the modus operandi thugs differ. Indeed, according to the website of the Ministry of the Interior, “home-jacking”, a phenomenon since the 2000s, takes place in a more violent context than a break-in. We can thus remember the violent burglary of the home of Bernard Tapie and his wife in Seine-et-Marne, in April 2021.
“‘Home-jacking’ is a burglary technique which consists of breaking into a home while the inhabitants are present. Sometimes ‘home-jacking’ is accompanied by violence in order to recover a bank card code, for example. In recent years, homejacking has become a common practice in residential neighborhoods.“, we can read on the official website, which provides some prevention advice. One of the objectives of “home-jacking” is in particular to seize the keys of luxury vehicles, without damaging them.
“If you think someone has broken into your home, call 17 immediately, remain discreet and wait for the police or gendarmes. Do not take risks and cooperate if the attackers come your way. You can collect elements that will help identify the perpetrators (clothing, language, type of vehicle, direction of flight, etc.). Once the burglars are gone, protect the traces and clues“, finally specify the police.
In 2018, Yvelines was the scene of several “home-jackings”, leading investigators from the Yvelines gendarmerie group and those from the Versailles research section to set up a specific investigation unit. In May 2019, a “highly organized” team of 17 burglars and their accomplices responsible for more than 20 thefts by “home jacking” were arrested after a long investigation.