Police fire on car in Paris, killing two

The shooting took place overnight after Emmanuel Macron was re-elected for a second term as French president on Sunday evening.

French police forensic officers inspect the scene of a shooting on the Pont Neuf bridge in Paris, France, April 25, 2022. (photo credit: REUTERS/Christian Hartmann TPX)
French police forensic officers inspect the scene of a shooting on the Pont Neuf bridge in Paris, France, April 25, 2022.
(photo credit: REUTERS/Christian Hartmann TPX)

French police shot dead two men in a car that drove at them after failing to stop for a check-in central Paris, the public prosecutor's office said on Monday.

A third man in the car was wounded.

The shooting took place overnight after Emmanuel Macron was re-elected for a second term as French president on Sunday evening, but there was no immediate indication that the incident was tied to the election or to militant activity.

Police had initially spotted the car driving the wrong way on the Pont Neuf bridge in central Paris and tried to stop it to make checks. They opened fire when the car drove at them.

The driver and a passenger in the front seats, aged 25 and 31, were killed and while a third man, aged 42, seated in the back of the car, was wounded.

A French police forensic officer inspects the scene of a shooting on the Pont Neuf bridge in Paris, France, April 25, 2022. (credit: REUTERS/CHRISTIAN HARTMANN)
A French police forensic officer inspects the scene of a shooting on the Pont Neuf bridge in Paris, France, April 25, 2022. (credit: REUTERS/CHRISTIAN HARTMANN)

The Paris police department was investigating the incident as a case of attempted manslaughter of public authorities. The IGPN police watchdog questioned the officer believed to have carried out the shooting early on Monday.