PARIS: Tensions erupted in Paris on Tuesday after a police officer shot and killed a 17-year-old delivery driver in a suburb of the capital, with residents setting barricades alight and police responding with tear gas.
The teenage boy was fatally shot by the officer earlier in the day in the suburb of Nanterre after he failed to comply with a traffic check, reported Anadolu Agency.
The incident has caused shockwaves and raised concerns about the use of deadly force by security forces.
A video reported to be of the incident that circulated online shows two police officers leaning into the driver-side window of a car before it pulls away. One of the officers fires toward the driver. The car is later shown crashed into a nearby post.
During a parliamentary session, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin confirmed that the two police officers involved in the incident were being interrogated.
He acknowledged the existence of highly disturbing images circulating on social media and urged the public to show respect for both the grieving family and the presumption of innocence regarding the police officers.
Sabrina Sebaihi, a member of the Greens (EELV) party, expressed her condolences to the family of the 17-year-old delivery driver.
She emphasised that the police should only use their weapons in situations where their lives are in imminent danger, noting that the footage of the incident in Nanterre was “horrifying.”
Manon Aubry, a French member of the European Parliament, shared the footage of the moment when the officer opened fire on the young driver on Twitter.
Aubry described the images as “horrifying” and said that not obeying the “stop” command should not be punished with death.
Jean-Luc Melenchon, a former presidential candidate, said in a tweet that the death penalty does not exist in France and that no police officer has the right to kill except in cases of legitimate defence.
As the local community’s anger over the teenager’s death intensified, sporadic confrontations between young people and the police occurred Tuesday evening.
Several groups ignited barricades and garbage bins, vandalised a bus stop and launched firecrackers in the direction of the police.
In response, law enforcement deployed tear gas and dispersion grenades.
Nine people were subsequently arrested in connection with the clashes, according to French media. – BERNAMA-ANADOLU
