French customs officer shot dead by suspected weapons smuggler

A French customs officer has been shot dead in the southern city of Toulon by a suspected weapons smuggler, reports The Independent.

Two police officers were also injured in the incident shortly after 11am local time today.

The Var-Matin newspaper reported that a man who had been “monitored” by customs opened fire as police tried to arrest him at his home in the Saint Jean du Var area.

As he fled, he allegedly shot at officers multiple times with an M16 assault rifle, killing the customs officer and wounding police before he was arrested.

French media reported that the operation was linked to weapons smuggling in the city, which lies east of Marseille in Provence and houses a major naval base.

Read more of this report from The Independent.