The scene took place this Sunday morning during the 9 o’clock news on RTL. A private radio journalist, who was live from Wormhout, in the North, was attacked while reporting the latest developments in the investigation into the tragic shooting which claimed the lives of five people the day before. As she intervened in front of the house of one of the victims, a 29-year-old business manager killed with an automatic weapon, male voices were heard in the background, shouting “cleared !“. In a few seconds, the live broadcast was abruptly interrupted. Puremédias invites you to listen to the sequence in the video above.
“An RTL reporter was violently attacked, threatened and forced to flee”
From the studio, presenter Stéphane Carpentier reacted: “We interrupt the connection with her because she is obviously in trouble, we will keep ourselves informed of the situation on site.” During the 10 o’clock edition, the presenter of the newspaper Sébastien Rouxel gave more details: “If you were already with us on the 9 o’clock news, you undoubtedly heard a shocking scene. Our journalist was attacked live while talking about this tragedy. I reassure you, she is fine. The entire editorial team of RTL joins me in condemning these actions.”
A few hours later, the Society of Journalists (SDJ) of RTL published a press release denouncing this attack: “While she was this Sunday morning carrying out a live intervention on the dramatic news item in Wormhout, in the North, an RTL reporter was violently attacked, threatened and forced to flee, her radio equipment being also destroyed by the attacker“, explains the text. “The management and editorial staff of RTL provide their full support to the attacked journalist, as well as to all journalists who faced hostility while covering this event, and strongly denounce the threats or violence directed against journalists“, the press release continues. “The Society of RTL Journalists wishes to provide its greatest support and denounces these unacceptable threats and violence. The legitimate pain of bereaved families does not justify physical violence against a journalist who was reporting the events factually“, concludes the SDJ.
The attack occurs in a context of tension after Saturday’s shooting, which left five people dead in the Dunkirk region. Among the victims are two security agents, two migrants, and the business manager shot dead in Wormhout. The events, which took place on two separate sites in Loon-Plage and Wormhout, remain surrounded by gray areas. The alleged perpetrator of the murders, a 22-year-old man unknown to the police, went to the Ghyvelde gendarmerie at the end of the day. The Dunkirk prosecutor, Charlotte Huet, specified that he was in possession of several weapons found in his vehicle. The investigation is continuing to clarify the motivations for this act.
