PORTRAITS – The suspect, presented to a judge this Tuesday, “spontaneously admitted” to having coldly shot five people on Saturday. The motive could be professional revenge.
“Anyone who was there, at that time on the road, could have been a victim”saddened Patrick Guerbette, founder of the ECS company, where two victims of the quintuple murder in the North worked on Saturday. While the suspect must be presented this Tuesday to an investigating judge with a view to his indictment, the trail of professional revenge emerges from his first statements, during which he “spontaneously admitted the facts”. The investigation will have to shed light on the motivations of this 22-year-old suspect. In the North, families, loved ones and associations pay tribute to the victims of this «terrible drame». A white march is organized in their memory on Wednesday, at 2 p.m. in Loon-Plage (North).
Paul Dekeister
Paul Dekeister, 29, was the first victim of this deadly journey. The suspect is said to have harbored deep resentment towards him after having been employed in his road transport company. He was killed around 3:15 p.m. on Saturday in Wormhout in front of his home by several gunshots. He leaves behind his partner Emilie, a girl and a boy. “Our life was stolen from me in the space of seconds. I will be strong for us, for you, for our little ones”she wrote in a message posted on Facebook, accompanied by a black and white photo of the couple, accomplices at the ice rink. “I keep seeing this horrible scene, I keep screaming for you to come back to me, to get your heart back.” With our colleagues from The Voice of the North a relative paid tribute to the memory of a “awesome dad.” “He was a huge heart, very generous in life and his friends.”
Marc Lehmhus and Aurélien Cugny
The accused then went around 4 p.m. to the port area of Loon-Plage, on the outskirts of Dunkirk, where he murdered two security agents from the ECS company, fathers in their thirties, Marc Lehmhus and Aurélien Cugny. “He knew one by sight, it seems, that’s all”said his lawyer, Véronique Planckeel. “Nothing can justify dying at work, nothing can console their children and partners and for a long time they will try to find explanations for this tragic death”reacted in a long message posted on social networks, the mayor of Loon-Plage, Éric Rommel.
Marc Lehmhus, 37, was the father of two daughters and very popular with the residents of his town, Bourbourg. He had been a member of a motorcycle club in Loon-Plage for around ten years, where he helped organize a race every year. “You probably met him during our event where he has been teaming up with his twin brother for years in the refueling and paneling area”writes the club in a Facebook publication, confident of being “in shock”. “We will miss his smile, his kindness, his availability so much.” Marc was also a fishing enthusiast with his twin brother Jérôme. Next Saturday, a lantern release will be organized in his memory at the pond in his town where he used to, “he who loved carp fishing so much, at Oye beach with our family, that we loved sharing good times”. “He exuded the joy of living and it was difficult to see him without his smile,” also greeted the mayor.
For his part, Aurélien Cugny, 33, regularly participated in securing the Dunkirk festival. “He was always very professional,” entrust to The Voice of the North Pascal Bonne, head of the city’s entertainment department. In private, he was always very jovial and friendly. Today, I can’t understand and I’m obviously very sad.” In his personal time, he also belonged to the “Ultras Dunkerquois”. Monday evening in Dunkirk, more than 200 members of the group gathered to pay tribute to the man who provided security at the football stadium. A procession set off through the city, holding his portrait and lighting smoke bombs up to the entrance to the stadium.
Two Iranian Kurds
For the moment, the suspect has not provided an explanation for the murder of two migrants in a camp near Dunkirk. They would be two Iranian Kurdish nationals, aged 19 and 30, named Mustafa and Ahmid, according to France 3 Hauts-de-France. However, the migrant aid associations contacted by Le Figaro were unable to confirm with certainty the identity of the victims. “It’s something we absolutely didn’t expect. For someone who didn’t know them, who had nothing to do with the presence of migrants in this geographic area, to suddenly shoot them, that’s very, very scary. We tell ourselves this is not completely by chance. If they had been blond and pink, he probably wouldn’t have shot. said Salam’s vice-president Claire Millot. For the moment, the Dunkirk public prosecutor’s office has not communicated any information suggesting a racist or xenophobic motive.
