BREAKING UPDATE: New information released after family-of-five killed in Douvres France

FURTHER information coming out of Douvres (Ain), near Ambérieu-en-Bugey, France has revealed that the 22-year-old man, who killed five members of the same family, including three children, did not just use a gun as first reported.

UPDATE 9.19 am (July 21) – Reports from France on Thursday, July 21 confirmed that the mass murderer also used a katana, a long Japanese sword, alongside a long-barrelled gun to kill his father, his stepmother and the three children – his 17-year-old sister, the daughter of his stepmother (15 years old), and his 5-year-old half-brother.

According to Le Parisien, his father worked as a director of a construction company in Ain. While the 22-year-old man worked at a fast food establishment in a nearby town.

Franceinfo reported that the man had barricaded himself inside the victim’s home and was wearing body armour. The National Gendarmerie Intervention Group (GIGN), the elite police tactical unit of the French National Gendarmerie, managed to shoot the suspect, who died as a result of his injuries.

Public prosecutor, Christophe Rode, said: “Despite several attempts to get the individual to lay down his arms and despite an electric pulse pistol, the madman pointed his weapons and advanced towards the gendarmes, who then used their weapons four times, causing serious injuries.”

Rescue workers tried to revive him but he died 20 minutes later, shortly before 12 pm, the magistrate said.

ORIGINAL 5.19 pm (July 20) – A 22-year-old man has shot and killed five members of the same family, including three children, in Douvres (Ain), near Ambérieu-en-Bugey, France.

The horrific incident happened late on Tuesday, July 19 in France’s Douvres, however, police were not able to make contact with the man, who remained in the victim’s house, until Wednesday, July 20.

The National Gendarmerie Intervention Group (GIGN),  the elite police tactical unit of the French National Gendarmerie, were dispatched to the scene from Dijon shortly before 7 am on Wednesday, July 20.

After trying to negotiate with the young man, GIGN shot the man dead.

Local news outlets originally reported that the attack was racially motivated, although further reports appear to suggest that the man was the son of the father from a previous marriage or relationship.

According to the mayor of the town, the 22-year-old killed a couple and three children, including two girls aged 17 and 15 and a 5-year-old boy who had resided in Douvres since July 2021. The man did not live with the family.

French police cordoned off the area and laid out a large perimeter around the centre of the village, which is home to around a thousand residents.

The news of the killings comes after one person was shot dead and four people were injured in a shooting incident at a shisha bar in France’s capital of Paris on Monday, July 18.

This is a breaking news story, we will bring you further updates when the information is made available.

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