Prison guards have blocked access to 18 prisons in France after two colleagues were stabbed in a brutal attack by a ‘radicalized’ inmate in Normandy. The prisoner’s wife, who was visiting at the time, died in the incident.
About 60 guards have blocked the Condé-sur-Sarthe prison in north-western France, the scene of Tuesday’s horrifying attack, setting fire to tires and palettes outside the secure facility. The two guards were seriously injured in the stabbing, and the suspect was shot and wounded by police.
The inmate is believed to have become a radicalized Islamist inside prison, with Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet telling French media there “is no doubt as to the terrorist nature of this attack.” The man’s wife, who died during the 10-hour siege following the stabbing, is thought to have smuggled a knife in to him during her visit.
A local union leader at the Fleury-Merogis prison outside Paris told the AFP that “colleagues want to go to work but we do not abandon them, we do not send them to die.” Footage from the prison shows that riot police have arrived on the scene and are calling on the guards to remove their blockades.
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