Rédaction Africa Links 24 with lexpress
Published on 2024-03-04 02:45:00
The gun recovered at the scene of the shooting.
A shootout occurred during a night patrol in the rural municipality of Ambohijanaka. Three armed suspects were killed by the gendarmes’ bullets.
Gunshots were heard by the residents of Ambohijanaka, echoing on Saturday just before 10 p.m. A shootout broke out between the gendarmes and about ten presumed bandits, precisely in the Ambatolampy neighborhood. The toll stands at three dead.
Seven gendarmes, led by the chief of the fixed post of Ambohijanaka, were patrolling that night, according to explanations provided by the Interregional Garrison of the National Gendarmerie (CIRGN) of Antananarivo. In the darkness, they spotted at least ten individuals who were about to cross paths with them.
Recovered
“As is usual and as the population is already accustomed to, the gendarmes request a check when they encounter night owls during patrols, especially those with suspicious behavior,” the CIRGN explains.
This time, the group of presumed criminals held back from the gendarmes and refused to be searched. At the first orders, they opened fire. “The post chief shouted at them to stop shooting. He warned them that he and his men would retaliate if they persisted. Despite the warnings, the individuals did not stop firing,” the same source reports.
Fortunately, the suspects’ bullets did not hit anyone. The gendarmes retaliated with bursts of gunfire. As a result, three members of the gang were fatally shot by the projectiles. No one in the neighborhood recognizes them. Their accomplices scattered and fled as soon as they saw them on the ground.
The gendarmes combed the scene of the confrontation where they then recovered an automatic pistol with a magazine loaded with two cartridges, casings, knives, spears, scissors, a torch, and other sharp objects used by the bandits.
Gendarmes from the Alasora brigade were called to intercept the fleeing suspects, but they managed to evade the pursuit. An intensive patrol has been engaged in response to the increasing crime in the municipalities of Alasora and Ambohijanaka for the past few days. Saturday’s incident was the second shootout to occur in the area in two weeks.
Hajatiana Léonard
Read the original article(French) on lexpress.mg
