The 15-year-old was stabbed 50 times on Wednesday and then burned alive. Prosecutor Nicolas Bessone spoke of “unprecedented cruelty”. According to Bessone, the crime is related to gang crime in the poorest city in France. 17 people have already been killed in clashes between rival gangs in Marseille this year. Last year there was a total of 49 – a new high.
In the case that is now being investigated, according to the public prosecutor’s office, a 23-year-old inmate recruited the 15-year-old victim in an online network. The prisoner, who describes himself as a member of a gang known as the DZ Mafia, hired the 15-year-old to intimidate a rival by setting fire to his flat door.
IMAGO/MAXPPP/Pennant Franck
Prosecutor Bessone spoke of “unprecedented cruelty”
The young person was promised 2,000 euros for this. According to the public prosecutor’s office, the 15-year-old was found by members of a rival gang. The gang members stabbed the boy several times before setting him on fire. A friend of the man who was killed, also aged 15, managed to escape.
Taxi driver shot
According to the public prosecutor’s office, the violent act caused another violent death. After the death of the 15-year-old, the same inmate as in the first criminal assignment recruited a 14-year-old youth to avenge the killing of a member of the opposition gang, the so-called Black people. . The prisoner promised 50,000 euros for this.
The 14-year-old then hired a 36-year-old father, who had no involvement in drug-related crime, through a driving service provider. When the youth saw the member of the rival gang on the street, he asked the driver to stop. However, he refused, so the boy killed him with a shot to the back of the head.
The victim was known in Marseille as an amateur footballer. According to prosecutors, the 14-year-old admitted to being shot but claimed the shooting was unintentional. Prosecutor Bessone emphasized that the man killed was not “directly or indirectly” involved in the drug trade.
Victims and perpetrators are getting younger and younger
Marseille is the second largest city and also one of the poorest cities in France. Drug-trafficking-related violence is common, and in recent years several gangs have fought to control the lucrative drug trade. Prosecutor Bessone said the perpetrators and victims of this violence were getting younger and younger.
The north of the city, with a total of 870,000 residents, is particularly affected by drug violence. In the economically weakest arrondissement, one in two lives below the poverty line. According to “Spiegel”, the probability of being a victim of a robbery is twice as high as the French average. According to media reports in France, the parents of the 14-year-old child suspected of murder are in prison for drug offences.
A raid across the country in the spring
The French authorities are trying to combat the rampant drug violence. In the spring, more than 1,350 people were arrested in raids across the country. One focus was on Marseille. The local authorities spoke of an “XXL raid” with over 900 police and customs members deployed.
In April it emerged that investigators had also targeted the port city’s drug squad. As reported by the newspaper Le Parisien, the General Inspectorate of the National Police (IGPN) raided the main department of Marseille’s criminal investigation department, which is responsible for finding the biggest drug deals. In addition to many alleged violations, corruption is suspected in a respected police department.
As a political measure against drug crime, the French government wants to invest heavily in the city. According to President Emmanuel Macron, five billion euros will be released. They should flow into schools, local public transport, housing projects and security, among other things.