The Marseille prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation for “fatal blows with the use or threat of a weapon” after the death of this young man on the night of Saturday to Sunday, on the sidelines of the riots which hit the Marseille city. The IGPN was also seized.
Circumstances that remain to be clarified, but a “likely” LBD firing involved. The Marseille prosecutor’s office announced on Tuesday July 4 that it had opened an investigation for “fatal blows with the use or threat of a weapon” after the death of a 27-year-old man who suffered cardiac arrest after a “violent shock to the chest”. The facts occurred on the night of Saturday July 1 to Sunday July 2, on the sidelines of the riots in the Marseille city after the death of Nahel, killed on June 27 by a police officer during a road check in Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine).
>> Riots after the death of Nahel: find the latest information in our live
The prosecution specifies that at this stage, it is not “possible to determine whether the victim had participated” to these riots. Here is what we know about the death of this young man, revealed by the weekly Marianne and the regional daily The Marseillaise and confirmed by France 3 Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur.
Death was caused “by a violent shock to the chest”
“The elements of the investigation make it possible to retain as probable a death caused by a violent shock at the level of the thorax caused by the firing of a projectile of the flash-ball type”the prosecution told France 3 Paca on Tuesday evening. “This impact led to cardiac arrest and therefore death in a near time”he continues. “A judicial investigation of the head of fatal blows with the use or threat of a weapon” was therefore opened. The General Inspectorate of the National Police (IGPN), the police force, was also seized, learned franceinfo from a source close to the investigation.
The victim was on a scooter when she was hit
According to the prosecution, it is, pfor the hour, “unable to determine location” where the young man was touched by this “likely” LBD shot. The facts occurred while riots and looting were underway in Marseille overnight from Saturday to Sunday, “without it being possible to determine if the victim had participated or even if he had been able to circulate in such an area”.
A source close to the investigation, however, told franceinfo that the victim, who was traveling on a scooter, was discovered in Cours Lieutaud, in the city center. The young man was taken to hospital, where he died.
An important police force in Marseille during the weekend
This man died in a particularly tense context in the Marseille city, plagued by violent riots since the death of Nahel. During the weekend of July 1 and 2, a supermarket was set on fire and a car dealership attacked, France 3 Provence-Alpes Côte d’Azur reported. “Almost 400 shops” were vandalized, according to the president of the CCI Aix-Marseille-Provence, Jean-Luc Chauvin, “some in the city center, but also in shopping centers”.
To deal with these riots and looting, a large police force had been put in place on Saturday, after major violence that had already occurred overnight from Friday to Saturday. Armored vehicles and two helicopters from the gendarmerie, as well as Raid police officers had been deployed, in addition to the national police force, the Bouches-du-Rhône prefecture had announced on Twitter.
During the night from Saturday to Sunday, 71 people were arrested in Marseille (against 95 the day before), reports France 3 Paca. Seven police officers were also injured, including one in the head by mortar fire.