A 17-year-old young man was killed by police fire in Nanterre on Tuesday, June 27, 2023. Two investigations have been opened: one for intentional homicide against a person holding public authority and the other for intentional homicide by a person holding public authority.
This Tuesday, June 27, 2023, around 8:30 a.m., a 17-year-old teenager was killed during a traffic check in Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine). A police officer used his weapon on this young man driving a Mercedes. The arrival of help did not save the life of this boy who was declared dead at 9:16 a.m. “following at least one gunshot wound” according to the Nanterre prosecutor’s office. An underage passenger in the vehicle was arrested while another is believed to be on the run. The first information advanced a refusal to comply on the part of the driver according to police sources with Franceinfo. According to them, the driver ran into one of the peacekeepers who then fired. But a video taken by a witness turned this case upside down.
A user has posted on Twitter the images of the moment when the policeman uses his weapon. The context is quite vague. This car allegedly committed several traffic violations before being approached by the two police officers. The vehicle is then stationary. We see two policemen near a yellow sedan. They are on the driver’s side and the window is down. Several words are exchanged as an officer takes aim at the young man behind the wheel. This one appears to restart when the armed police officer shoots him. The car escapes then will stop a few tens of meters further by embedding itself in a post.
Two flagrance investigations were opened by the Nanterre prosecutor’s office. The Nanterre police station and the Hauts-de-Seine Territorial Security were entrusted with the one for refusal to comply and attempted intentional homicide on a person holding public authority. The IGPN was seized for intentional homicide by a person holding public authority. The prosecution clarified that the young man who died was known to the justice services, in particular for driving without a license and refusing to comply.
Nadja, the victim’s grandmother, spoke on BFMTV: “It was the police who killed him, they shot him in the heart! He’s only 17!” The mayor of Nanterre, Patrick Jarry, called for “calm” and will hold a press conference this afternoon. Sandrine Rousseau reacted on Twitter: “A refusal to comply cannot be a death sentence. For anyone. Never.” In 2022, 13 people died during a refusal to comply according to AFP.
