Two minors aged 14 and 15 were indicted for murder on Friday April 19, following the death of Philippe, a 22-year-old young man who was violently attacked during the night from Monday to Tuesday in Grande-Synthe (North) . At this stage of the investigation, there are reasons to believe that it is a “murder aggravated by the circumstance of ambush”, explained the Dunkirk prosecutor, Charlotte Huet, during a conference Press.
“One of them recognized” the organization of an “ambush” against the young man through a free dating site, a police source told Agence France-Presse ( AFP), Thursday. The site in question, Coco.gg, allows you to initiate discussions by entering a nickname, age, gender and postal code without verification or creating an account.
Friday morning, more than a thousand people gathered in Grande-Synthe to pay tribute to the victim. “Tribute to Philippe,” could be read on a large banner at the head of the procession – in the presence of the victim’s two brothers, Dylan and Kelvyn. Several people, many wearing white outfits, held photos of the victim.
Philippe was “a great friend, kind, attentive, he was there for everyone,” said Valentine, 26, a childhood friend, in the crowd. “We were in the same jujitsu club. I met him last year, and it was a crush; he was friendly, smiling… It’s a shock for everyone,” testified Louna, 42 years old.
An act of “barbarism”
Alerted by the firefighters around 2 a.m. on Tuesday, the police discovered the young man lying in a parking lot behind a hypermarket, with fractures and wounds to his face, a police source explained on Wednesday.
The white march passed, in silence, in front of the scene of the attack, where dozens of flowers were placed, under a few drops of rain.
According to a witness, he was attacked by three individuals while he was on a telephone conversation. They stole his cell phone before fleeing, this source reported. Hospitalized in intensive care, he died Tuesday evening as a result of his injuries.
“We are talking about a man who was (…) truly and clearly tortured, who was on the ground and who was finished off by blows,” commented the Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, Thursday evening on BFM-TV, referring to a act of “barbarism”. Mr. Attal sent “a thought for this man, for his family, for his colleagues”.
According to the young man’s brother, he was “coming home from a friend’s house, 100 meters from the house”, when he was attacked. Described as “friendly, pleasant” and “without problems”, Philippe had worked as a facilitator in the city’s leisure centers “on small summer contracts” and had also been a canteen supervisor, Benoit told AFP Ferré, the chief of staff of the mayor of Grande-Synthe. “He was supposed to start working at Amazon soon,” he added.
“We are in shock today. Let us not give in to fear or the spirit of revenge,” wrote the mayor of Grande-Synthe, Martial Beyaert (Socialist Party), on Facebook, calling on participants in the march to march with “respect” and “dignity “.