Fatal shooting in Dumbéa: the police officer was not on duty, he was in a vehicle attacked at a roadblock
In a press release, the Nouméa public prosecutor provided details on Sunday on the circumstances of the death of a man shot and killed on Friday in Dumbéa.
“On May 24, 2024, at the very beginning of the afternoon, the police officer decided to accompany his colleague to the Médipôle territorial hospital center in Dumbéa for personal reasons. The agents, who do not wear uniforms, are therefore not on a service mission”, writes the prosecutor in a press release. Faced with traffic difficulties, they hesitate to continue. “The driver of an ambulance reassures them while inviting them to follow him”he continues.
“As they approach a third roadblock, their vehicle is blocked by three parked cars. They were again stoned by a group of 40 to 50 people who approached the vehicle in a very vehement manner. The driver gets out of the vehicle, declines his status and issues summons. The police officer occupying the passenger seat saw a man, near his door, strike a violent blow with an object of a certain length against the passenger side window, which shattered into pieces. Seeing that the man rearms his arm to strike him with the object, the police officer, in a seated position, draws his service weapon, shouting “police, police”. » He fires only once; The man was fatally injured in the thorax.
The magistrate adds that “the findings made on the vehicle highlight multiple impacts on the bodywork compatible with stone projections” and “the exploitation of a video broadcast on social networks highlights the presence of a saber of abatis under the arm of a man, lying on the ground, inanimate, likely to correspond to the victim, deceased”.
The police officer was indicted on Sunday for “fatal assault aggravated by the use of a weapon” and placed under judicial supervision.
Yesterday, the delegate minister responsible for overseas territories, Marie Guévenoux, recalled that it was “It is important to say that there was no police operation that led to the death of people.”
