Unrest In France Over Teen Killed By Police, Protesters Break Into Bank

Residents in France continued protest on Wednesday night following the killing of 17 years old teenage delivery driver by police.

Some residents said they couldn’t sleep through out the night as the protesters took to the streets of Nanterre, a suburb in Paris, broke into a bank, destroyed Automated Teller Machine, ATM, set ablaze several vehicles along the streets. Drivers of moving vehicles were forced to disembark from their cars while the protesters set the vehicles on fire.

It would be recalled that a 17-year-old teenager, known as Nael M, was reportedly driving a rental car in the western Paris suburb of Nanterre early on Tuesday when police pulled him over for breaking several road rules, according to prosecutors.

A video that went viral on social media on Tuesday showed two police officers trying to stop the vehicle. One of them points his weapon at the driver through the window before firing at close range.

It was gathered that 13 police shooting resulting to deaths in France took place during traffic stops last year. The killing of Nael is said to be the second fatal shooting in such circumstances this year.

The death has continued to unleash tensions between angry residents and police since Tuesday.

On Wednesday, the Police clashed with the angry protesters overnight just hours after French President, Emmanuel Macron called the shooting of the teenage delivery driver by police “inexcusable” and pleaded for calm while justice takes its course.

Wednesday unrest was the second night of violence in the Paris suburb of Nanterre even as the government heightened the police presence in Paris and other big cities on Wednesday after the killing triggered a night of scattered violence.

Military personnel have been seen deployed to the streets of Nanterre as protesters fired fireworks at police, video from residents showed.

Nael’s mother had called for a silent march Thursday in his honor on the square where he was killed, while French activists renewed calls to tackle what they see as systemic police abuse. Government officials condemned the killing and sought to distance themselves from the police officer’s actions, according to Arise News.

“Nothing justifies the death of a young person,” Macron told reporters in Marseille, calling what happened “inexplicable and inexcusable.”

The victim, who was driving the car, was wounded by a gunshot and died at the scene, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement. A passenger in the car was briefly detained and released, and police are searching for another passenger who fled from the scene.

French Interior Minister, Gerald Darmanin said 31 people were arrested, 24 police officers injured and 40 cars burned in overnight unrest.

Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne while speaking before Parliament on Wednesday, said, “the shocking images broadcast yesterday show an intervention that clearly appears as not complying with the rules of engagement of our police forces.”

Nael’s family lawyer, Yassine Bouzrou, reportedly told The Associated Press they want the police officer pursued for murder instead of manslaughter, and want the investigation handed to a different region because they fear Nanterre investigators won’t be impartial.

The lawyer, accordingly, rejected a reported statement by the police officers that they believed their lives were in danger because the driver had threatened to run them over.