NEWS: Police officer in Charlie Hebdo investigation 'shot himself dead hours after the attack'

Investigation: police at the scene in Paris (Picture: EPA)

A top police officer involved in the Charlie Hebdo investigation killed himself within hours of the massacre.

Helric Fredou, 45, shot himself with his police-issued gun after meeting relatives of one of the 12 victims of the terror attack at the magazine's Paris office, according to reports.

Mr Fredou was Deputy Director of the Regional Service Judicial Police in Limoges, south of the French capital, and is believed to have been one of the leading figures in the investigation into the attack.

French media reported that the single police officer, who had no children, had complained of being "depressed” and overworked before the massacre.

His body is thought to have been discovered in his office at Limoges by a colleague at around 1am on Thursday morning.

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