several shots exchanged and two injured, the attackers fleeing

An attack in the middle of a public highway. This Thursday, October 10, an armored van was the target of an attack in the city center of Grenoble. “An armed attack on an armored van took place this morning after 10 a.m. at the corner of Cours Berriat and Jean-Jaurès in Grenoble. Police officers and firefighters are on site” reports the prefecture of the Isère on X.

The Grenoble public prosecutor, Éric Vaillant, went to the scene but told the press that there was “no person dead” after the attack. “There are two minor injuries linked to road accidents caused by the event and by a shard of glass,” he details in his message. An investigation was opened and entrusted to the Organized and Specialized Crime Division (DCOS).

The cash conveyors who were inside the attacked vehicle were unharmed according to information from the Dauphiné Libéré. Emergency services treated five people who were shocked or slightly injured, none of whom were due to gunshots according to initial reports. The conveyors managed to escape the attack and took refuge in a gendarmerie barracks located in Seyssinet-Pariset, just near Grenoble, the public prosecutor said.

“Dozens of shots”

The attack gave rise to a scene of panic. The attacker(s) allegedly used Kalashnikov-type assault rifles to attack the armored van which was leaving the Bank of France and fled according to the Dauphiné Libéré. They are actively sought. Several shots were fired according to a witness interviewed by France Bleu Isère which mentions “around ten shots”. “A cash conveyor van was hit by a white van, it was followed by two Mercedes cars. Men got out of the vehicles with heavy weapons. Exchanges of fire followed,” relates another witness.

“At least two vehicles blocked” the armored cash transport van and there was an “exchange of gunfire” between the cash conveyors and the attackers, who then fled, a police source confirmed to the AFP. The white van and a Mercedes vehicle are still at the scene of the attack.

The van used by the attackers shows traces of two impacts and caught fire in the intersection of Cours Berriat and Cours Jean-Jaurès reports France Bleu Isère. Firefighters quickly intervened to put out the fire and the police were also on site. The road intersection is closed to traffic, public transport is also at a standstill in the area and the prefecture is calling on residents and passers-by to avoid the area. The prefect of Isère, Louis Laugier, indicates that “a crisis unit is activated to monitor operations. The perimeter is secured by the police. And adds: “We recommend the greatest caution in the city center of Grenoble.