In France, a policeman has been arrested and brought into custody in connection with the shooting death of an unarmed teenager at a traffic stop on Tuesday.
At least 875 people were arrested in France on Thursday night
Nationwide protests have erupted over the death of a teenager named Nahel in France, who had been working as a delivery driver. The victim was of Algerian descent and lived in Nanterre with his mother.
A video, which has since been authenticated by the AFP, shows two policemen standing by the side of the parked car, one pointing his weapon at the driver from his position. A voice is then heard on the video, telling the victim “You are going to get a bullet in the head.”
The police officer then appears to fire as the car drives away.
This past Thursday, the police officer’s lawyer made a statement to BFM TV that his client had intended to aim for the driver’s legs, but that his gun rose up as the car drove away. “My client risked being run over, he was in danger,” he said, claiming that his client had no intention of killing the teenager.
As protests have begun, French minister Olivier Klein has urged parents to keep their children at home tonight while French president Macron has implemented a curfew and stopped city bus operations. Klein wrote a tweet talking about the importance of keeping children safe.
Armored police vehicles have been deployed as the riots have grown in scale, with cars now being set on fire in some neighborhoods. The officer who shot Nahel has issued an apology to the family, but this killing has revived long simmering issues about racial profiling in France’s police force and their handling of crime within the suburbs.
President Macron has accused protesters of exploiting the teens death.