During the riots on Friday evening in the sensitive district of Pissevin in Nîmes, a police officer was saved thanks to his bulletproof vest which stopped the projectile which was aimed at him. A rash on his belly shows the violence of the impact. An investigation is opened for attempted assassination of a person holding public authority.
It was a rash and a stomach ache that alerted the Nîmes policeman: after his intervention during the riots on Friday evening which led to the burning of shops and an administration, the official of the BAC (Brigade Anti Crime ), had complained of having “received something“.
After examining his bulletproof vest, his colleagues then discovered a warhead stuck inside the protective equipment. In one photo, you can see the tear in the fabric where the projectile penetrated the garment.
Bulletproof vest that stopped a projectile targeting a Nîmes police officer during the riots of June 30, 2023 • © DR
In the heat of the moment, amid trash fires and mortar fire, while the premises of the DDTM (Departmental Directorate of Territories and the Sea) was burning, no one saw or heard where the detonation.
Impact on the belly of a policeman saved by his bulletproof vest during the riots of June 30 in Nîmes. • © DR
Surveys have been made. A complaint for attempted homicide should be filed. In a press release, the public prosecutor of Nîmes Cécile Gensac confirms the opening of an investigation in the act of the head of attempted assassination on a person holding public authority.
An X-ray confirmed the presence of ammunition in the bulletproof vest. The judicial police of Montpellier and its branch of Nîmes are seized of the investigation. No one has been arrested in this case.
Press release from the public prosecutor of Nîmes
Bruno Bartocetti, representative of the South Zone for the SGP Police FO Unit union, sent us his reaction:
Our institution is in danger and so are the police. I think of their children and their families. Our colleagues are exemplary and show real courage, but it is time to declare a state of emergency. Because it is no longer possible to operate under these conditions.
Bruno Bartocetti, representative of the South Zone for the SGP Police FO Unit union
Last night in Bagnols-sur-Cèze, the violence of the rioters went up a notch with gas cylinders positioned in the middle of burning containers. The police were again targeted by mortar rounds which caused no injuries. A dumpster was set on fire in front of the town hall, the facade of which was blackened and defaced. Downtown stores were also vandalized.
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