2020 Saint-Just shooting

Shortly after midnight on 23 December 2020, two gendarmes went to a residence in response to domestic violence. The suspect, identified as 48-year-old Frédérik Limol, without warning fired shots killing a gendarme and injuring another. After Limol set his house on fire, he then shot and killed two more responding gendarmes.[1] According to the Mayor of Saint-Just François Chautard, Frédérik Limol's house has been destroyed by the fire.[2][3] Limol crashed his car into a tree; he was found dead inside the car, having apparently committed suicide.[4]

The victims are assigned to National Gendarmerie, which is responsible for smaller towns and rural and suburban areas. The officers killed are identified as Cyrille Morel, age 45; Remi Dupuis, age 37; and Arno Mavel, age 21.[5][6][7]

The shooter was identified as 48-year-old Frédérik Limol, a former soldier. He was heavily armed at the time of the incident, and attacked the officers with a military-style semi-automatic rifle. Limol escaped from the attack scene and committed suicide while crushing with his car against a tree.[8]

The President of France Emmanuel Macron posted on his Twitter account, "They were intervening to rescue a woman who was the victim of domestic violence in Puy-de-Dôme, three gendarmes were killed, a fourth wounded. The Nation joins in the pain of families. To protect us, our forces act at the risk of their lives. They're our heroes."[9] France's Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin said, "Last night, the National Gendarmerie lost three of its own, three of its soldiers led by the French service."