Prolonged investigation into arms smuggling.

Prosecutors said on Thursday that the judicial investigation opened for manslaughter following the shooting death of a 27-year-old Afghan refugee in Colmar in mid-August has been extended to arms trafficking. The two main suspects were arrested earlier this week.

“(The investigating) judge is now also seized on this count: possession, possession, transfer without permission of one or more weapons and ammunition of caliber B, aggravated by the situation of the crowd”, related Catherine Sorita-Minard, city attorney.

Two suspects were arrested in the case, one suspected of having carried out the shooting in Cercelles (Val d’Oise) on Tuesday, and the other suspected of having supplied the weapon to the chief in Colmar, where he lived, the following night. 500 meters from the crime scene.

Their custody continued on Thursday. The prosecutor said the referral of the two men could take place on Friday for “possible indictment”.

According to the latest news from Alsace, the main suspect, who lived in Colmar, already had a serious criminal record at the age of 17, having been convicted six times in cases of theft, concealment, damage to public property and drugs.

Scooter noise

The 27-year-old Afghan refugee, who had been in France since 2017, was killed by a bullet in the chest while visiting friends on August 14 in the Europe district of Colmar, a republican restoration district in the west of the city.

When he went with his friends, he heard the sound of a scooter, so he asked the driver to leave. The latter insults him before returning with the others. A scuffle broke out between the two groups and firing ensued.

The young Afghan died the next night of his injuries in hospital. An autopsy confirmed a single bullet wound.

Three more arrested

The shooter and his accomplices were on the run for nearly ten days before being apprehended.

The prosecutor clarified that three more arrests were made during the same police operation, which led to the arrest of the shooter’s accomplice in Colmer between Tuesday and Wednesday night, and not the two as originally charged. However, he noted that the arrests were linked to another practice, not the massacre of the young Afghan.

TTY