According to local officials and police sources, a guy who set fire to the town hall in the western French city of Angouleme on Wednesday was shot by police and suffered serious injuries.
The 46-year-old, dressed in military war gear, broke into the 19th-century structure and doused two female councillors’ assistants on the first floor with gasoline.
Prefect Jerome Harnois said at a press conference, “He poured petrol in the room, while the aides managed to get out and cry for help, alerting local police.”
Harnois continued, “After failing to subdue the attacker with a truncheon, officers resorted to using their firearms several times.”
A police source stated that the man was admitted to the hospital “in very grave condition” and that his motivations were unknown. He also indicated that he had no criminal record.
While Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin commented on the social media platform X that “no-one was hurt apart from the perpetrator,” Angouleme’s mayor, Xavier Bonnefont, stated that the fire was promptly put out.
Prosecutors have launched an inquiry, Harnois said, adding that the assailant was a citizen of France.
