What we know about the main suspect, actively sought

MISCELLANEOUS NEWS – A first lead for investigators. After the death of a 15-year-old teenager shot in the head during a shooting Thursday evening in Poitiers, the shooter continues to be actively sought by the police this Sunday, November 3. According to the public prosecutor in Poitiers, Cyril Lacombe, a suspect was identified, who was known to the police particularly for drug trafficking.

According to the first elements of the investigation, the suspect “would have engaged in the sale of narcotics”in the area where the facts occurred, “ during the previous days ». The shooting broke out on Thursday evening, near a restaurant in the Couronneries district, around 10:30 p.m. Five minors aged 15 and 16 were injured by gunfire, one of whom died of 'a bullet in the head.

Here is what we know about the profile of the suspect, whose identity is currently being verified.

• Weapons, narcotics… A heavy criminal record

The man is known to the police and has a long criminal record, according to joint information from TF1 and the Parisian, obtained from sources close to the case. This young person, now aged 25, had already been arrested in 2022 in Marseille with weapons, including assault rifles. He was then indicted for criminal conspiracy and possession of a weapon. Following this affair, he was placed in pre-trial detention, then released and placed under judicial supervision.

But his record does not end with this episode: the suspect was also involved in drug trafficking cases. According to The Parisianhe was indicted in 2021 for possession and use of narcotics in Roissy-en-France (Val-d'Oise). Then in 2024, the young man had several legal disputes concerning the use of narcotics at the Gare de Lyon in Paris, as well as a case of repeated violence and death threats in Aubagne (Bouches-du-Rhône).

• Arrival in Poitiers “a few weeks ago”

The suspect was “ present for several weeks in the city » of Poitiers, declared Cyril Lacombe during a press point on Friday. According to the first elements of the investigation, he sold drugs in the Couronneries district a few days before the shooting. TF1 mentions a sale on “a deal point held by an opposing “clan”, which would have triggered tensions.

According to the prefect of Vienne, Jean-Marie Girier, the Couronneries district, classified as a priority in city policy (QPV), is home to “ two or three deal points which are important and mobilize the national police a lot on a daily basis” but remains relatively calm » : « it is not held by the dealers even if there can be tensions”he stressed on Friday.

• Items found during a search

During the intervention of the police on Thursday evening, two witnesses present at the scene of the shooting were attacked “as being likely to know the identity of the shooter”a third person “being designated by the clamor as being able to know the latter”reported the prosecutor.

The next morning, investigators followed the trail of the identified suspect. During a search of a home he allegedly occupied, seven munitions of the same caliber as the 11 found at the scene of the shooting were seized by investigators. “ Partial elements of a disassembled weapon »were also seized. The search is now continuing to find the suspect.

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