 a vehicle in Hosingen, forcing the driver to abandon their car at knifepoint and flee in the direction of Ettelbruck.

Police pursued the vehicle and a patrol in Ettelbruck was able to stop the car. The suspect got out of the car and attacked the police officers with a knife, according to the public prosecutor’s office. One of the officers fired his weapon, seriously injuring the suspect who was taken to hospital but died of his injuries later that night. 

The investigation concluded in December last year, with the chamber in an official statement explaining that, “in the face of the assault to which the police officer was exposed, his defence, as he did, was necessary, indispensable and proportionate.”

It is standard procedure for the inspectorate to investigate whether a shot fired by a police officer was proportionate to the given situation. By law, police are only allowed to use their firearm if all other methods to resolve the conflict have failed.

The case against the police officer who shot a carjacking suspect has been dropped. On 31 July last year, a Luxembourg agent fatally wounded the suspect who tried to attack the police officers with a knife. The council chamber of the Diekirch court has ruled this a case of legitimate defence.