Archive photo of police logo Photo: Sebastien Goossens

Archive photo of police logo Photo: Sebastien Goossens

The public prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation after a police officer on Saturday shot a suspect in an armed robbery. The man later died of his injuries.

The suspect stole a vehicle in Hosingen on Saturday evening, forcing the driver to abandon their car at knifepoint and fleeing 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, the public prosecutor’s office said in a statement. 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 Diekirch magistrate and public prosecutor’s office were on site and ordered an investigation. The matter will also be investigated by the police inspectorate, an independent watchdog.

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.