French police officer detained on homicide charges after killing teenager for fleeing traffic stop

On Tuesday morning, a French police officer shot dead a 17-year-old in the Paris suburb of Nanterre for fleeing a traffic check and failing to comply with an order to stop his car.

The incident ignited unrest in the city, prompting shock and anger among residents questioning the readiness of security forces to resort to violence.

The teenager was driving a rental car in the western Paris suburb of Nanterre in the early hours of Tuesday when the police pulled him over for violating road rules, said the prosecutors.

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BFM TV broadcast images show clashes breaking out between youths and police on Tuesday evening, as per AFP reports.

The Nanterre prosecutor's office said that the 17-year-old died from the wounds after being shot at by the police.

As per various news agencies, a video of the incident being circulated on social media showed two police officers beside the car, a Mercedes AMG, with one shooting as the driver pulled away.

French policeman detained on homicide charges

The Nanterre prosecutors' office said that the officer accused of shooting at the teenager has been detained on homicide charges.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told parliament the two police officers were being interrogated and acknowledged that the images posted on social media were "extremely shocking".

He urged people to "respect the grief of the family and the presumption of innocence of the police".

Paris police chief Laurent Nunez, in an interview with BFM television, said that the action of the policeman "raises questions", though he said it was possible the officer felt threatened.

The family's lawyer Yassine Bouzrou told BFM TV that while all parties needed to wait for the result of the probe, the images "clearly showed a policeman killing a young man in cold blood".

"This is a long way from any kind of legitimate defence," he said, adding the family had filed a complaint accusing the police of "lying" by initially claiming the car had tried to run down the officers.

The incident sparked anger among residentswhich led to protests in Nanterre. The demonstrators lit fires, set a car alight, and destroyed bus stops on Tuesday evening.

According to the authorities, nine people were arrested in the confrontations.

Nanterre mayor Patrick Jarry said he was "shocked" by the video images and passed his "sincere condolences to the boy's mother".

"He hopes that the investigations opened will make it possible to shed light as quickly as possible on the exact circumstances of this tragedy," his office said.

"It's so sad, he was so young," said AFP quoted Samia Bough, 62, the teenager's former neighbour, who came to lay a bouquet of yellow roses at the scene as saying.

(With inputs from agencies)

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