Perilous
Times
Attacker kills French policewoman with samurai sword
A man armed with a Japanese samurai sword killed a policewoman and
wounded two other people on Friday during an attack on a local
government office in central France, police said.
7:26PM BST 14 Oct 2011
The Telegraph UK
The 33-year-old man was shot in the leg and wounded during the
attack, which took place at a local prefect's office in the city
of Bourges.
Witnesses said that before the attack the man had been rejected
for a gun license at the office. He returned with the
80-centimetre (32-inch) sword and attacked police when they
attempted to subdue him.
The 30-year-old policewoman was seriously wounded and died shortly
after the attack, the interior ministry said. Another policeman
was wounded in the shoulder and a local bureaucrat was also
lightly wounded.
A third police officer shot and wounded the attacker, after which
he was subdued and taken into custody, witnesses said.
At the scene, Interior Minister Claude Gueant said the attacker
had been a teacher "who was not known at all to police but who,
according to academic authorities, was showing signs of weakness
in his teaching."
"This incident is a reminder that the profession of police officer
is a profession of daily public service, an always-dangerous
profession that deserves respect," Gueant said.
The French police union, UNSA, denounced the attack and called for
"maximum sentences to be systematically applied to cop killers."