Jeweller arrested after shooting dead career-criminal who threatened storeowner's wife with a handgun during latest French gem raid



Armed robber left in pool of blood after being shot four times to the body



He and an accomplice were thought to have robbed a bank earlier that day

It follows the release of CCTV footage of a raid in Cannes in July



A jeweller has been arrested in France after shooting dead an armed robber who was threatening his wife.

The 36-year-old thief, a known serial criminal, was shot four times in the body after entering a store in Sezanne, in the Marne department north east of Paris.

Earlier in the day he and an accomplice are believed to have carried out a successful robbery of a Credit Agricole bank in nearby Vitry-le-Francois.

Scene: The jewellery shop in the Sezanne near Paris where the owner shot dead one of two robbers who had threatened his wife with a gun

Solidarity: Locals in the commune of Sezanne march in support of the jeweller following his arrest for the shooting

At around 4.30pm on Thursday, the robber arrived at the Sezanne store wielding a flash-ball gun.

He threatened the wife of the 54-year-old jeweller, who then came downstairs from his flat above the shop armed with a 9mm pistol.

Crime scene: A police notice is attached to the door of the jewellery shop

The jeweller opened fire, leaving the robber lying in a pool of blood.



An accomplice waiting outside was seen running away, and has not been found.

The entire incident was caught on CCTV, but nobody involved has yet been named.

‘The robber was hit four times and died of his injuries at around 5.30pm,’ said an investigating source.



Christian Rocquigny, the local prosecutor, meanwhile confirmed that the dead man had 10 criminal convictions.

They included one for armed robbery and kidnapping for which he had been sentenced to 10 years.

This morning police forensics experts were examining the shop for DNA evidence, which was closed and surrounded by officers.

It is the second time in as many months that an armed robber had been shot dead by a jeweller in France.



In September a store owner in the Riviera city of Nice was arrested after firing a number of bullets at a criminal who was trying to escape on a moped.

Brazen: The fatal shooting follows the release of CCTV footage of a raid in July in which a single robber brandishing a pistol stole more than 88 million pounds worth of jewels from the Carlton Hotel in Cannes



There has been an epidemic of jewel raids in France in recent years, with armed gangs and individuals carrying out ever more daring raids.

In July, a single robber brandishing a pistol stole more than 88 million pounds worth of jewels from the Carlton Hotel in Cannes, a few miles along the coast from Nice.

Like the Sezanne raider, he was caught on CCTV but until now has never been caught.





