A man “obviously wanting to set fire” to the Rouen synagogue shot dead by the police, announces Gérald Darmanin

An armed man “obviously wishing to set fire to the synagogue” from Rouen (Seine-Maritime) was “neutralized early this morning” by the police, announced the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin on X, Friday May 17. The mayor of Rouen, the socialist Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol, declares on the same social network as the firefighters “currently have the outbreak of fire under control”.

The police were called “around 6:45 a.m. because smoke was coming from the synagogue”, reported a police source to Radio France. When they arrived there, they discovered a man armed with a knife and an iron bar. He headed towards the police. One of them then used his weapon, “mortally injuring the individual”according to this police source, adding that it is “still too early to establish a link between this man and the start of the fire”.

The socialist mayor of Rouen Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol also affirms on the social network‘”through this aggression (…) it is not only the Jewish community which is affected. It is the entire city of Rouen which is bruised and in shock”.

Two investigations have been opened: one into the fire and another into the circumstances of the death of the individual killed by the police, announced the Rouen public prosecutor’s office.

“There are two separate investigations: a first on the arson targeting a place of worship and on intentional violence against persons holding public authority, and a second on the circumstances of the death of the individual”, declared Rouen prosecutor Frédéric Teillet. The first investigation was entrusted to the General Directorate of the National Police (DGPN) and the second to the General Inspectorate of the National Police (IGPN), according to the same source.