It was screams coming from Place du Général de Gaulle, in the 1st arrondissement of Marseille, which pushed local residents to call the police on the night of November 28 to 29, around 2 a.m.
Witnesses also noticed the presence of a man lying on the ground.
Two American army personnel, sailors from the Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier currently on a stopover in Marseille, had just been violently attacked by several individuals.
A young man of around 17 years old arrested
Thefts included the snatching of their jewelry and mobile phones, accompanied by beatings, which left one of the soldiers on the ground. The latter had to be taken care of by the firefighters and transported to the Laveran army training hospital, where the second victim, also affected, joined him shortly after.
Thanks to the description, a Bac center crew managed to find one of the suspects. A young man of around 17 was arrested still in possession of the chain taken from one of the sailors.
An investigation was opened to identify the other protagonists.
