Fatal fire in Décines-Charpieu: four suspects in custody, two are minors
Four young people aged 16 to 18 have been arrested nearly two weeks after the fire that killed three people in the Rhône region. Investigators are focusing on the theory of a settling of scores linked to drug trafficking.
Four arrests following the arson attack in Décines-Charpieu
Four young people aged 16 to 18 have been in custody since Thursday 21 May at Lyon police headquarters, suspected of being involved in the arson attack that cost the lives of three people in the Décines-Charpieu neighbourhood in the Rhône. According to France Info, two of them are minors. The announcement of these arrests, made on Friday 22 May, was received with relief by residents of the neighbourhood.
The fire broke out in the morning of 11 May, around 7:30 a.m. Two men aged 28 and a woman aged 61 died in the flames. A local resident, Claude Mercier, who was at the foot of the building that day, told France Info: "The image always stays with you. And even if I don't personally know these people, just hearing them scream, the distress... " She explained that she is still deeply affected: "And it's going to last for a little while."
Settling of scores against a backdrop of drug trafficking
Investigators are favouring the theory of an act of intimidation in the context of a territorial war linked to drug trafficking. Among the four in custody, some are already known to the police services.
Laurence Fautra, right-wing (LR) mayor of Décines-Charpieu, commented on the profile of the suspects: "I don't even know if they're being manipulated by other, slightly older people. In any case, it's tragic to end up there and do this. I don't know if, honestly, they realise the extent of their actions, but I think the police and the judiciary will remind them."
Residents reacted with a caution mixed with resignation. One of them said he felt "reassured" while adding: "That's normal, there's an investigation. After that, you have to see if it's them. Well, it's sad in any case." Another local resident pointed out the limitations of the judicial response to drug trafficking: "It's always something, but drug trafficking... I think they got around to it a bit late."
Violence linked to drug trafficking expanding across the entire Lyon metropolitan area
Since the fire on 11 May, police presence has been reinforced in the sector. The case fits into a wider context of rising violence linked to drug trafficking in the Lyon region.
On Thursday 21 May, the day the four suspects were placed in custody, two people were wounded in a shooting in the 8th arrondissement of Lyon. Two days earlier, on Tuesday 19 May, a major operation against drug trafficking had led to the arrest of more than a hundred people across the entire Lyon metropolitan area.
Source: France Info