A “real execution on the public highway”: a Turkish man indicted for “assassination” after the murder of a man in the middle of the street

A Turkish man, born in 1985, was indicted for “assassination” after the “execution” of a man at the wheel of his car committed Tuesday in Lorscourt (Doubs), the Montbéliard public prosecutor announced Thursday .

“The accused admitted to having killed the victim, while claiming to have felt threatened by the victim, which seems to be contradicted by the video surveillance images,” declared prosecutor Paul-Édouard Lallois, during of a press conference. The magistrate spoke of a “real execution on the public highway with a determination (of the suspect) that sends shivers down the spine”.

The victim collapses to the ground

According to him, the video surveillance images show an armed man calmly walking towards his victim’s vehicle which has just parked, and shooting several times. Investigators “discovered three 7.65 mm caliber shells, in the same place as the broken window of the vehicle”, said the prosecutor, while indicating that there had been “at least four shots”.

The victim, born in Türkiye in 1970, tried to get back on the road for a few meters, before getting out of his vehicle and collapsing to the ground. He had time to confide to a witness that his attacker was his ex-wife’s new companion.

Despite the arrival of help, he died a few moments later. He had several gunshot wounds to his left arm and side.

An automatic pistol found at his home

The shooter was quickly identified by officers from the Montbéliard police station, responsible for the investigation. “The speed of the police services allowed the suspect to be arrested the same day,” welcomed Paul Mangin, the Montbéliard commissioner. A search of his home revealed an automatic pistol, designated by the suspect as the murder weapon, as well as the clothes he was wearing at the time of the events.

The latter assured during his police custody that he “felt obliged to take action out of fear, believing that if it was not him who took the action, it would have been the victim”, declared Paul-Édouard Lallois. According to the suspect, the victim had been “oppressive towards his ex-wife”, who had also alerted the Bavans gendarmerie, where a procedure had been opened.