The inhabitants of Viry-Châtillon (Essonne) paid tribute, Friday, April 12, to Shemseddine, 15, who died after being beaten near his college, during a white march in the streets of the city which brought together several hundred people.
“Your gestures of solidarity, your kind presence will have been of inestimable support to us,” thanked the schoolboy’s mother in a message read by a cousin of the family at the end of the march.
“Shemseddine was a funny, generous and sunny boy,” said the mayor of Viry-Châtillon, Jean-Marie Vilain (Les Centristes), who took part in the procession among around 2,000 people, according to a figure communicated by the municipality .
White balloons and birds were released in tribute to the young man at the end of the march. Céline-Hélène Drapier, 52, came with her 7-year-old son, but her 15-year-old eldest, in 9th grade at Les Sablons college and friend of Shemseddine, was unable to come. He didn’t have the strength to leave his house, she explains: “We hope for better, that there is an awareness” among young people “of what to do and what not to do “.
“Violence trivialized”
Shemseddine was “our little sun”, remembers Rania, 15, who came with her friends Neila, 14, and Aicha, 16. All three came to “pay their respects” and hope “that it doesn’t start again, the fights, the violence.” Several teenagers wear white T-shirts reading “Rest in peace Shemseddine.”
“It would not have happened if the violence was not trivialized,” denounces Catia Dos Santos, 43, who came with her two sons “to support Shemseddine’s mother.” Her eldest was in Shemseddine’s class, and the last few days “were very complicated for him,” she says, with tears in her eyes. “‘It could have been mine,’” she adds.
Shemseddine was buried Tuesday in Morsang-sur-Orge, a neighboring town to Viry-Châtillon. Four young men, three minors and one adult, were indicted for murder on the night of Sunday to Monday after the death of Shemseddine, beaten over a dispute linked to the sister of two of them. They were all placed in pre-trial detention.
According to the first elements of the investigation and the statements of the accused, cited by the Evry prosecutor, the two brothers had ordered several boys to stop their correspondence with their sister “on subjects relating to sexuality”, “fearing for their reputation and that of their family.” The teenager, aged 15, was indicted for willful failure to prevent a crime.
