Suspect confesses to double police murder
A man is being held in police custody after confessing to the murder of two female police officers at the weekend.
Le Parisien newspaper reports that Abdallah Boumezaar will be charged over the deaths of Audrey Berthaut and Alicia Champion.
The two women were killed late on Sunday night when Boumezaar opened fire in the southern town of Collobrières.
He fired two shots at 35-year-old Audrey Berthaut after seizing her weapon.
He then chased 29-year-old Alicia Champion down the street and fired a further six shots.
Boumezaar was with a 20-year-old woman who got involved with the initial argument with her officers. She is also being held in connection with the murders.
New interior minister Manuel Valls visited Collobrières on Monday and met the families of the two women.
"The country will have the opportunity in the next few days to pay its respects to these two officers and to show its gratitude," he said.
A ceremony will take place on Friday with the minister attending.
The suspect's brother told journalists on Monday that Boumezaar was "out of control."
"He killed police officers but he could have killed my mother, my sister or me," he said. "He's someone who has spent a lot of time in prison. I spoke a lot to him, tried to get him back on track. I tried to spend a good chunk of time with him when he came out of prison to stabilise him."
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