2 officers killed, inmate escapes in attack on prison van in France

A manhunt was underway in France on Tuesday after two prison officers were killed and three others injured in an attack on a van that was carrying a convict who managed to escape amid the carnage. In a statement to reporters, French Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti said the convoy was transporting a prisoner from a courthouse to a prison in the northern city of Rouen when it was attacked by assailants armed with "heavy weapons."

According to French news agency AFP, the vehicle was rammed by vehicles at a highway toll, allowing the prisoner to escape.

"All means are being used to find these criminals," Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said in a statement. "On my instructions, several hundred police officers and gendarmes were mobilized."