24 hours on, gunman kills a policewoman
A THIRD police officer was killed in Paris yesterday after a gunman opened fire in the street – sparking fears of a copycat of the Charlie Hebdo massacre less than 24 hours earlier.
Unarmed trainee Clarissa Jean-Philippe, who had only been in the job for 15 days, was blasted in the back five miles from the offices of the satirical magazine.
The 27-year-old from the Caribbean island of Martinique was investigating a car crash when she died just before 8am.
A street cleaner was shot in the face and critically wounded as he and another man tackled the gunman, who reportedly shouted ‘Take that!’ as he killed Miss Jean-Philippe in the southern suburb of Montrouge. He was last night said to be in a serious condition in hospital.
Witnesses said her killer, who was wearing a bullet-proof vest and carrying a machine gun and a pistol, looked North African. He escaped after hijacking a white Renault Clio.
Ahmed Sassi said: ‘There was an officer in front of a white car and a man running away who shot.’ William Thomas, 19, said: ‘I was woken by the first three shots. I heard someone shout “Take that!” and there were another two shots.’
The gunman’s car was abandoned less than two miles away. Police arrested two men over the killing last night.
Interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve said it was too early to establish whether the murder was linked to the Charlie Hebdo massacre.