Quadruple family tragedy in Gy: father kills his sons and mother-in-law before taking his own life
In Haute-Saône, a man shot his two sons, aged 6 and 10, and his mother-in-law before taking his own life. TF1 Info reports that he filmed the incident.
Four deaths in a Haute-Saône village following a family tragedy
In the village of Gy, in Haute-Saône, a man armed with a shotgun killed his two sons, aged 6 and 10, and his mother-in-law before turning the weapon on himself on Wednesday, 2 September. TF1 Info reports that the father, identified as Jean-Paul M., filmed the entire incident before sending the videos to his wife.
Charles Martino-Herter, cousin of the shooter, gave an account to TF1 reporters: "He sent the videos to his wife, then afterwards, he called his family to commit suicide live in front of them. It's truly terrible. There are no words at all."
Gendarmes, alerted by neighbours, discovered the bodies of the two children inside a commercial vehicle. Those of the shooter and his mother-in-law were found in the adjacent bungalow. The family home was still under construction, but the family was already living on the property — washing was hanging outside, a bicycle leaned against a wall, the car parked nearby.
Hervé Seigneuret, a neighbour, described the moment the alert was raised: "We heard two loud blasts and a few minutes later, we heard screams." With tears in his eyes, he recalled the two boys: "The kids spent their time out in the street, on bikes, on scooters, with a football at their feet, smiling. Such spontaneity, such kindness, what... What a tragedy."
Jean-Paul M. was in the process of divorcing his wife at the time of the incident and was known to the justice system for approximately a hundred cases of aggravated theft.
Psychiatrist and judicial expert Nidal Nabhan Abou shed light on the act of filming the incident: "It is violence by proxy. That is to say, there is a person who wants to inflict pain, suffering on someone else. And he makes people very dear to the person he wishes to harm endure it."
A psychological support unit was put in place by the municipality of Gy following the tragedy.
Source: TF1 Info