Terry Dupin was seriously injured in the throat by a response shot from the GIGN, after a 36-hour hunt – LE LARDIN-SAINT-LAZARE, FRANCE
- Wanted since Sunday, Terry Dupin was “neutralized” Monday noon by the GIGN. Aged 29, he was tracked down in this corner of Dordogne by more than 300 gendarmes.
- This case is far from being an isolated case: since the beginning of the year, the elite unit of the gendarmerie has intervened 27 times for cases of madmen, twice as many as last year at the same period.
- For the commander of the GIGN, General Ghislain Rety, this increase is explained by the deleterious effects of confinements.
The 36-hour hunt ended on Monday in a wooded area in Condat-sur-Vézère, in the Dordogne. Chased since Sunday by more than 300 gendarmes, Terry Dupin, 29, was seriously injured in the throat by a response shot from the GIGN on which he opened fire with a hunting rifle. A case which is far from being an isolated case. Since the beginning of the year, the elite unit of the gendarmerie has intervened 27 times for cases of madness, twice as many as last year at the same period.
His boss, General Ghislain Rety, explains to 20 minutes that this increase is one of the consequences of successive confinements.
How did the GIGN manage to find and “neutralize” Terry Dupin on Monday?
We had defined an area in which he was likely to be. If there was not, a call for witnesses had been launched so that his presence could be reported by residents of nearby municipalities. And that’s what happened. A witness indicated that the wanted person was in a small hamlet. The GIGN, which was right next door, therefore approached the scene. The man was about 300 m from us, on the edge of the forest. He started to shoot us.
We carried out an encirclement maneuver with three armored vehicles, with a view to calling him alive. Quickly, he found himself stuck in a trap. In front of us, he pretended to commit suicide by pointing his gun under the chin. He did not take action but started shooting again at the GIGN operators who were almost in contact with him. Finding himself in self-defense, a gendarme located about thirty meters fired to neutralize him, at the same time as the assault of a dog.
Recently, the GIGN recently carried out several rather lengthy manhunts. How does the unit operate in such cases?
It is true that there was a succession of somewhat similar stalking, in wooded areas in the Cévennes, peri-urban in Loire-Atlantique last Friday. A year ago, the GIGN conducted a six-month reflection on the theme of stalking. But we only refined the system that already existed. As soon as a fugitive is sought, the entire gendarmerie is put in order of battle. The GIGN intervenes in support of the territorial command level. It is put forward concerning the intervention and intelligence gathering part using special means. The objective is to challenge the living fugitive, either by surrender or by arrest, to bring him to justice.
Are you seeing an increase in the number of madmen?
Yes, there is a statistical upsurge. The GIGN has intervened 27 times since the beginning of the year for madmen. At the same time last year, we had done almost twice a month. Likewise, regional negotiators intervened 2.5 times more than last year. On the other hand, I have the impression that there were just as many in the 1980s or 90s. I hope that we are not witnessing the resurgence of the phenomenon.
How do you explain this increase?
I put it down to the health crisis. The confinement has had consequences for some, both in economic and psychological terms. He was a trigger. But the profiles of the madmen remain the same. They are people with psychiatric problems, alcohol, couples, neighbors, or angry with authority.