Twenty people have been detained for rioting in Nanterre, a western suburb of Paris, police said on Tuesday. The unrest broke out after an officer killed a 17-year-old man during a traffic stop.
The altercation occurred on Tuesday morning. According to police, the young man was shot after failing to comply with an order and attempting to ram an officer with his car.
A video filmed by a witness shows that two officers had stopped a yellow Mercedes AMG. While one officer was standing outside the window and giving orders to the driver, his colleague stood next to him and was pointing a handgun at the driver.
The car suddenly moved forward, prompting the officer to fire a single shot. The Mercedes crashed into a pole and the driver died, despite efforts to resuscitate him.
The prosecutor’s office said the driver was known for having previously refused to comply with a police order during a traffic stop.
Hours after the incident, around 50 people held a protest outside Nanterre police station, BFM TV reported. In other parts of the neighborhood, rioters smashed bus stops, set garbage containers on fire, and torched several vehicles.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said an investigation had been launched into the shooting. A separate investigation has been launched on suspicion of attempting to cause harm to a police officer.