The suspect, aged 21, admitted the facts in police custody on Wednesday. He would have wanted to take revenge on his former owner after his eviction from the premises.
A Mauritanian national was arrested by the Bordeaux national police on Wednesday, after more than a month of investigation. He is accused of having set fire to his old apartment, a few days after his eviction, to harm his former owner who had evicted him. Two of the new tenants of this property were then inside, according to our sources, confirming information from South West.
The facts, which the defendant admitted in police custody, took place on October 5, rue Henri-Dunant in Lormont – a town bordering Bordeaux. Furious at having had to leave his old home, the young man decided to take revenge by setting fire to a shopping cart filled with plastic in front of the new tenants' doors.
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Serious concern
Quickly contained, the fire caused neither serious injuries nor destroyed the targeted apartment. On the other hand, it had inconvenienced several residents of the building with its fumes, caused a great stir and damaged the building's lobby, according to a police source.
First opened for “attempted assassination”, the investigation was reclassified as “degradation of the property of others by a means dangerous to people”. Referred to the prosecution on Thursday, the suspect was placed in pre-trial detention pending trial.
