French authorities have arrested nine people over a firework attack on a police station in a suburb north of Paris. This came just days after a teenager riding a motorbike was killed when a police car hit him during a car chase after he refused to stop for a police check.
Late Sunday evening, "around 50 people attacked the police station in La Courneuve, mostly with firework mortar shots" Paris police chief Laurent Nunez told TF1 television, adding that the attack was linked to the death of an 18-year-old in a police chase on Wednesday evening.
The victim, identified as Wanys R, from La Courneuve, had refused to stop for a police check in the neighbouring town of Aubervilliers and was stuck by another police car as he was riding away on his scooter.
The accident was documented in a video that was widely shared online. Wanys died in hospital, and the passenger on the scooter with him is being treated for injuries.
The people aiming fireworks at the police station Sunday night “clearly came from the neighborhood" where Wanys lived, Nunez said.
Seven adults aged 18 to 21 years old and two minors were among those arrested, and two police officers were "slightly hurt".
Investigations underway
Nunez said police reinforcements would be deployed in the area around midday on Monday to keep the situation from escalating.
La Courneuve lies in the Seine-Saint-Denis department that is to host Olympic venues including the flagship Stade de France stadium.
Police representatives say Wanys’ death was an accident, while the lawyer representing Wanys' family has accused police of hitting him on purpose.
Two investigations are underway, one by the IGPN internal affairs division, into the police officers for involuntary homicide and bodily harm, and another into the accident, for refusing to stop for a traffic check.
In June, a video of a police officer shooting dead 17-year-old Nahel in the Parisian suburb of Nanterre after he refused to stop for a traffic check set off several days of protests and riots in Paris and its suburbs.
The officer who fired the fatal shot has been charged with voluntary homicide.
(with AFP)
