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Municipal employee killed in Grenoble: judicial investigation opened, suspect still wanted
The Grenoble prosecutor’s office opened a judicial investigation on Wednesday into the murder of Lilian Dejean, a municipal employee of the city who was shot dead on Sunday by a man who is still on the run and actively sought. Wednesday was also declared a “blank” day by the Grenoble municipality for some 400 of the victim’s colleagues, who are still very shocked by the circumstances of his death while he was on duty early Sunday in the city center and was trying to intervene after a traffic accident caused by the suspect. The investigation is open for “murder of a person responsible for a public service mission”, “unintentional injury” “aggravated by speed and hit and run”, and “possession of category B weapons”, announced prosecutor Eric Vaillant in a message to the press. “The investigation is now continuing under the direction of an investigating judge”, he added. The alleged murderer, aged 25, has been actively sought since Sunday and the police have carried out several searches, in particular where he was domiciled in Saint-Martin-d’Hères in the suburbs of Grenoble. No police custody was carried out, according to the prosecution.- Identity document – An identity document in the suspect’s name was found in the Audi RS3 rental car registered in Poland, which caused the accident. It allowed investigators to identify him as the rental company of the vehicle. The suspect is known to the courts in particular for “theft, violence and drug trafficking”, and for having beaten up, with five fellow inmates, another prisoner at the Varces remand center (Isère) in June 2023. Tried in August 2023 for this violence, he was sentenced to four months in prison with a ban on owning a weapon for five years. A week after his return to prison, he was involved in new acts of violence for which he was due to be tried on October 3. The man is suspected of having fired a handgun on Sunday at the municipal agent who wanted to prevent him from fleeing after causing the accident by hitting another car while driving at full speed. Initial information had suggested that the driver was drunk at the time of the incident, but “nothing is certain on this subject and we only have presumptions. In the absence of an immediate check after the accident, it is impossible to confirm this at this stage”, according to the prosecutor. – “Buried in Guadeloupe” – Hit by two bullets in the chest, Lilian Dejean, a 49-year-old cleaning agent and father, died shortly afterwards in hospital. Two 9 mm caliber cartridges were found at the scene, according to a police source. The driver of the vehicle that was hit, an elderly woman who was slightly injured, received six days of temporary work interruption (ITT). This tragedy occurred in a context of tensions in the Alpine metropolis after a summer marked by numerous acts of violence and shootings between drug traffickers. At least 17 episodes of gun violence have been recorded in the territory since the beginning of the year and the authorities no longer hesitate to speak of a “gang war”. On Monday, the Green mayor of Grenoble Eric Piolle paid tribute to Lilian Dejean during a ceremony attended by several hundred people. A psychological unit had also been opened on Monday. The family is considering organising a “silent march” in Grenoble in the coming days to pay tribute to him, one of their relatives told AFP. Lilian Dejean should be “buried in Guadeloupe” at the beginning of next week, she added.chp-ahe/epe/mpm
