It was here, right next to the Chaban-Delmas stadium, that Mathieu D., a former employee of a large aeronautics company in the Bordeaux region, who lived in Bruges, separated from his wife and suffering from psychiatric disorders, died after being hit by several bullets. The police were called after he threatened them with a long blade while they were attempting to arrest him.
Mathieu D. Charles-Perens had escaped from the psychiatric hospital where he had been hospitalized. The prosecutor recounted the events in a press release. His chaotic journey began in the late afternoon. The forty-year-old entered a delicatessen on Rue d’Ornano, near the boulevard, and stole a large knife. At 7:04 p.m., the manager called the police after seeing the man wandering around the store.
He brandished the knife threateningly
Police officers were dispatched to the scene and began a search for the suspect. Initially unsuccessful, but at 7:25 p.m., he was spotted by four officers from the anti-crime brigade (BAC). When they saw them, Mathieu D. turned around. The rest of the events unfolded on the Avenue du Parc de Lescure, about a hundred meters from the grocery store.
The prosecutor stated that the police officers approached Mathieu D. to control him, but he “then produced the stolen knife, waved it in a threatening manner, and tried to flee.” Despite repeated requests from the officers, he refused to drop the weapon, turning around to “face them and try to attack them.” The magistrate continued.
The madman then advanced towards one of the agents, “with the knife raised with the intention to kill him.” A first police officer used his defense bullet launcher (flashball) once. Even after being hit in the shoulder, the man did not stop and continued his menacing advance. A second police officer “then used his administrative weapon three times. Wounded by the bullets, the attacker dropped the knife and fell to the ground,” said the prosecution chief.
Despite resuscitation efforts by the police and then the emergency services, Matthew D. did not survive. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 7:50 p.m. According to the prosecutor, the forensic doctor who arrived at the scene noted “the presence of four wounds on the deceased’s body.”
A tragic incident
“It’s very sad,” breathed a local businessman who spoke to us on Saturday. “I heard three explosions, at first I thought they were firecrackers. But when five minutes later I saw police coming from everywhere and cordoning off the whole area, I knew something serious had happened.”
The manager of the grocery store did not want to comment when asked by “Sud Ouest”. “A process is underway,” she apologized, and welcomed customers as usual.
Two investigations have now been opened into the case. The first, for robbery, threats with a weapon and attempted murder against a person holding public authority, was assigned to the Organized and Specialized Crimes Division (DCOS) by the Bordeaux public prosecutor’s office. The second, concerning the use of weapons by the two police officers, was assigned to the IGPN.
Police investigation
Police officers were interviewed on Friday evening. Drug and alcohol tests were conducted on the officer who used his pistol and were negative.
“From the statements of the police and the use of videos seized in businesses near the events, it is already clear that: the man remained unaffected by the police injunctions; he continued to advance towards the latter despite the first flash-ball shot in his direction; he had a threatening and determined attitude towards the police officers throughout the entire period; he came into contact with the latter and cornered the author of the fatal shots against a vehicle parked on the side of the road; when the police officer used his weapon, the man was just a few centimeters away from the weapon,” explains Frédéric Porterie.