Police Commissioner In Charge Of Charlie Hebdo Paris Attack Commits Suicide

A French police commissioner has reportedly taken his own life after meeting the relatives of a victim murdered in the Charlie Hebdo massacre. Helric Fredou, 45, shot himself in his office with his police-issue gun on Wednesday night in Limoges, a city in central France, according to France 3. Commissioner Fredou began his career as a police office in 1997 and had been the deputy director of the regional police since 2012. Colleagues told France 3 he was 'depressed' and overworked, and said he was single and had no children.

Brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi shot 12 people dead at the Charlie Hebdo offices on Wednesday before seeking refuge in a print works. They were killed on Friday afternoon during a shoot-out with police, as was their alleged accomplice, Amedy Coulibaly, who killed four hostages at a kosher supermarket in Paris.

France's national police union has expressed its 'sincere condolences' over Commissioner Fredou's death and said they were thinking especially of his colleagues.

A statement the morning after the death read:

'It is with great sadness that we were informed this morning of the death of our colleague Helric Fredou, assigned as Deputy Director of the Regional Service Judicial Police in Limoges.
'On this particular day of national mourning, police commissioners are new both hit hard by the tragic death of one of their own.
'The Union of Commissioners of the National Police would like to present its most sincere condolences to the relatives of Helric. In these difficult times, we have a special thought for all his colleagues and classmates, many of which we expressed their emotion and grief.
'We will keep you informed of how his funeral will be organized and the initiatives we take to honor his memory and support his family. We are proud of the courage of our colleagues and comrades, who facing seasoned and heavily-armed fanatics have tried at all costs to protect and assist our citizens at risk.
'[Armed officers] managed, with exceptional courage and self-sacrifice, to enable the release of hostages despite abominable complexity.'

Surviving Charlie Hebdo staff have revealed this week's edition - to be published on Wednesday with a circulation of 1 million, up from the usual 60,000 - will contain pictures of Mohammed in defiance of Muslim extremists who slaughtered their colleagues. The cover will be unveiled tonight.

Source: MailOnline | AP