The shooter, his brother-in-law, Loïc (not his real name), explained in court that he had never intended to make an attempt on Anthony’s life. The Lessinois had gone to Chièvres to fight with his brother-in-law who, a few hours earlier, had broken a glass in his face in defense of his father. Accompanied by two friends, Anthony had a bicycle key in his hand and appeared threatening. “I took the rifle to defend myself, I put a pellet to shoot once in the air, so as to scare. When I returned to the group, Anthony was facing me, he was moving towards me while I was moving backwards. When he raised his arm to strike me, I fired. I carried the rifle at my hip, I didn’t aim. When he fell I thought he was knocked unconscious, I didn’t think I hit him,” Loïc told the audience.
Self-defense had been argued by Loïc’s lawyer and this thesis had also been supported by the representative of the public prosecutor. The civil parties were outraged by the indictment; they considered that the mere act of pointing the barrel of the weapon towards the face confirmed the intention of homicide. The ballistics expert had indicated that the rifle in question could not kill unless the bullet passed through a soft part and hit a vital organ.
“An improbable trajectory”
This May 23, the president of the court delivered his judgment, long awaited by the family of the deceased who came to the hearing to hear it. The president accepted self-defense and acquitted Loïc of homicide. “The defendant’s version is plausible. Experts cannot discredit his explanations because they are plausible. The shooting took place in a few seconds, so there was too little thought for the risk to be integrated. The shot was only lethal because of an improbable trajectory and its random consequences. There remains doubt about the intention of homicide, and the conditions for self-defense are met”, expressed the president of the court.
On the other hand, as for Anthony Boursier’s acolytes on the evening of the events, also prosecuted, the president pronounced a six-month suspended sentence against them. According to the public prosecutor, one held a baseball bat and uttered threats, the other threw stones in the direction of Loïc’s father and the caravans installed on the property, a version that the two men. Despite their explanations, the president considered that they knew of Anthony Boursier’s warlike intentions and yet they did not take him to any other place than to his brother-in-law. On the contrary, when we arrived at the scene, one came out with a baseball bat and the other threw stones, “which reinforced the pack effect”, underlined the president.
The judgment handed down apparently did not suit the relatives of the deceased. The president of the court wanted Loïc to be accompanied to his vehicle escorted by the police.
