Paris erupts after cop ‘executes’ teenager in Nanterre

A shocking video showing police firing shots at a teenage delivery driver has sparked massive riots in Paris. Warning: Graphic

Riots have broken out in a Paris suburb after a policeman was accused of “executing” a teenager for violating traffic laws.

Nine people have been arrested as fires rage in the western suburb of Nanterre, after a 17-year-old delivery driver was killed.

The teen, named as Nael and said to be of Algerian background, was driving a rental car when police pulled him over for breaking several road rules, prosecutors said.

The killing was caught on video. Picture: Twitter

A video circulating on social media shows two police officers trying to stop the vehicle, with one pointing his weapon at the driver through the window and firing at point blank range. The car then drives a few metres before crashing into a barricade.

The teen died at the scene shortly afterwards despite the efforts of emergency services who tried to resuscitate him

A burning car in Nanterre after French police killed a teenager who refused to stop for a traffic check in the city. Picture: AFP

A firefighter at the scene of the riots in Nanterre, west of Paris. Picture: AFP

Firefighters work at the scene.

The officer accused of firing on the driver has been detained on homicide charges, the Nanterre prosecutors’ office said.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told parliament the two police officers were being questioned and acknowledged that the images posted on social media were “extremely shocking”.

He urged people to “respect the grief of the family and the presumption of innocence of the police”.

The shooting sparked mass riots.Picture: AFP

Paris police chief Laurent Nunez admitted in an interview with BFM television that the action of the policeman “raises questions”, though he said it was possible the officer felt threatened.

The family’s lawyer Yassine Bouzrou told the same channel that while all parties needed to wait for the result of the investigation, the images “clearly showed a policeman killing a young man in cold blood”.

“This is a long way from any kind of legitimate defence” he said, adding the family had filed a complaint accusing the police of “lying” by initially claiming the car had tried to run down the officers.

Protesters in Nanterre lit fires, set a car alight, and destroyed bus stops as tensions soared between police and locals.

Nanterre mayor Patrick Jarry said he was “shocked” by the video images and passed his “sincere condolences to the boy’s mother”.

“He hopes that the investigations opened (...) will make it possible to shed light as quickly as possible on the exact circumstances of this tragedy,” his office said.

— with AFP