A major deployment of security forces but also relief was ordered late Tuesday afternoon after the alert given by two witnesses who had seen an individual armed with what appeared to be an assault rifle, s ” introduce in an activity zone located in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, in the suburbs of Rouen
Nearly 130 police, firefighters and caregivers were then dispatched to the site and a security perimeter was immediately put in place.
“In accordance with the national intervention plan, the police of the research and intervention brigade (BRI) of the territorial direction of the judicial police of Rouen were engaged in assault column assisted by many public security police officers, to a total of 80 police officers engaged “, indicated the prefecture of Seine-Maritime in a press release.
A Samu crew and 48 firefighters transported by 34 machines were also positioned nearby, while 30 firefighters and 14 machines remained on pre-alert.
A dummy assault rifle
Except that in reality, it was a “false alarm”: it was an undeclared security exercise involving a man armed with a dummy assault rifle, organized at the initiative of a company of private security.
“The removal of doubt was carried out by the assault column of the BRI on the entire site,” said the prefecture. “The police discovered that an exercise with dummy weapons was organized on their own initiative by agents of a private security company whose premises are located on the site, without the latter not warning or the police. , neither the authorities, nor the residents ”, underlined the prefecture.
The prefecture condemned “irresponsible behavior”.
–
