“They are armed to the teeth”: an ongoing gendarmerie operation near Niort – Ouest-France

Gendarmes took over the historic center of Melle, this Saturday morning, April 16. The police notably cordoned off Saint-Jean Street, soldiers pointing their weapons in the direction of a building where a person could be cut off. It’s creepy, they’re armed to the teeth. It’s weird, it looks like a hostage-taking, testifies a resident of the city center, who evokes a gunshot heard before the intervention of the gendarmes. According to our information, shots broke out during the night in the rue Saint-Pierre district. Contacted, the prosecution indicates that people have been affected but that their vital prognosis is not engaged. The gendarmerie refuses for the moment to any comment. An operation is in progress, but we will not make any declaration at this stage, indicated an officer, at the end of the morning. Shortly before noon, soldiers also occupied Fossemagne and Desfontaines streets, still in the city center, while a helicopter flew over the area. “They are armed to the teeth”: an ongoing gendarmerie operation near NiortEXPAND