Fatal police shooting of teen unforgivable, says Macron
Jun 29, 2023
Paris [France], June 29: French President Emmanuel Macron has condemned the deadly police shooting of a 17-year-old boy in the Paris suburb of Nanterre.
"We have a young person who has been killed - this is inexplicable and unforgivable," Macron said in the southern city of Marseille on Wednesday.
"First of all, I want to express the emotion of the whole nation after what happened and the death of the young Nahel and express to the family all our solidarity and the sympathy of the whole nation," the French president said.
Street riots rocked the Paris suburb of Nanterre on Tuesday evening, following the fatal police shooting of the youth during a traffic stop.
The turmoil left 40 cars burned, the Interior Ministry said. The police officer behind the shooting is in custody and is being investigated for manslaughter. Thirty-one people have been arrested following riots in the Paris suburb, and 24 of the 2,000 police officers deployed were injured, the French government said on Wednesday.
"I call for calm," French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said. Darmanin said the police supervisory body launched an internal investigation into the incident.
A witness' mobile phone video of the incident, verified by the France Info channel, shows an officer pointing his gun into the driver's door of the stationary car, that contained two passengers in addition to the driver.
When the youth at the wheel suddenly drives off, the officer fires at close range, fatally wounding him. The car then drives a few metres further and rams a road barrier. One underage passenger was arrested and later released. A second passenger fled the scene, according to the public prosecutor's office.
Source: Qatar Tribune