Three days after the killing which left five dead in the North, Paul D., 22, was indicted on Tuesday December 17, 2024 for “assassinations” concerning the first three victims and for “murders preceded, accompanied or followed by another crime” concerning the last two, announced the Dunkirk prosecutor, Charlotte Huet, this Tuesday during a press conference. The suspect was placed “under the regime of pre-trial detention for a period of one year, renewable, in accordance with the requisitions of the prosecution”underlined the magistrate.
On Saturday, December 14, between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., Paul D. successively killed five people in the municipalities of Wormhout and Loon-Plage (North), as revealed by
News17. The events began at 3:13 p.m., when the Wormhout gendarmerie was called about a person found unconscious on the ground. The victim, Paul Dekeyster, a 29-year-old business manager, was discovered shot to death in front of his home. Shortly after, at 4:15 p.m., the Dunkirk emergency police intervened in a port area of Loon-Plage, where the bodies of two private security agents, Aurélien Cugny (33 years old) and Marc Lehmus (37 years old), were found riddled with bullets. along the Dunes canal.
A few moments later, near a migrant camp in Loon-Plage, several people reported the presence of two bodies to the police. These two victims, men aged 20 and 28, are migrants from the Kurdistan province, in Iran. The deadly journey ends around 5:10 p.m. Paul D. spontaneously presents himself at the Ghyvelde gendarmerie (North), a few hundred meters from the family home. “He arrived to surrender indisputably”declared Charlotte Huet.
“He returned (to the gendarmerie) without weapons”specified the magistrate.
An enigmatic profile
Paul D., 22 years old, unemployed, lived with his parents in Ghyvelde. Unknown to the police and justice services, he was a member of the sports shooting club “La Jean Bart Tir” in Leffrinckoucke (North) since 2023. According to the president of the club, René Jossien, he was “very discreet and didn’t get talked about”. During the search, investigators found five firearms in his car and twelve others at his home. “Only one of all these weapons is category B”said the prosecutor, adding that the others fall into category C or a lower category. The crimes were committed primarily using a 44-caliber rifle. A 12-gauge shotgun was also used in one of the murders, she said.
Professional links with the first victims
The Dunkirk prosecutor stressed that “the first person who was killed in Wormhout was the last employer of the accused”. Paul Dekeyster, the 29-year-old business manager, fired Paul D. at the beginning of October 2024.
The link between the accused and the two security agents killed at Loon-Plage is also of a professional nature. “He had also worked six months for the company which employed the security guards who were killed”declared the prosecutor. Paul D., however, did not mention “no particular dispute”
with these two victims, even if his resentment seemed
“more focused on direction” of this company.
The reasons for the murders of the two migrants in Loon-Plage remain unclear. The prosecutor admitted that “the motive still needs to be explored further” about this. She specified that these facts occurred “after the murders of security agents and concomitantly with the murder of people of Iranian nationality”. Paul D.’s criminal career raises questions. “Why did he stop there? Why five victims?”launched the magistrate. “The criminal journey raises questions. It is rare both in terms of the nature of the facts and the number of victims”.
Cold and methodical behavior
During his 72 hours in police custody, Paul D. was interviewed four times. He replied “for all questions” investigators. His behavior did not reveal any signs of psychological disturbance. “There is no suspicion of psychological disorders”affirmed the prosecutor, who clarified that he had not consumed drugs or alcohol before the facts. She added that the psychiatric expertise had not highlighted either
“alteration or abolition of discernment”.
In addition to the five murders, Paul D. was also indicted for “violence with a weapon” against two other people. These facts occurred at the time of the murders of the two migrants in Loon-Plage. The suspect “pointed and aimed his weapon” in the direction of a father and his son who were traveling in a car, but they passed very quickly, escaping a fatal outcome. He is also being prosecuted for “acquiring, possessing, carrying and transporting category B and C weapons”.
A tribute to the victims
The inhabitants of Dunkirk are in shock. Monday evening, more than 200 members of the “Ultras Dunkerquois” gathered to pay tribute to Aurélien Cugny, one of the security agents killed, who also provided security at the city’s football stadium. A citizen tribute to the two migrants and the three other victims also took place in Dunkirk.
Paul D. faces life imprisonment. The investigation continues to try to unravel the mystery of the young man’s motivations. “No definitive conclusions can be drawn at this time”recalled the Dunkirk prosecutor, specifying that it is only a question of “spontaneous declarations” of the accused, and that his explanations are still likely to evolve.
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