Colombian police and the French embassy announced on Tuesday (December 2nd) that a French engineer from Thales was shot dead on Monday night in an upscale neighborhood in Bogotá.
The killer "came from behind", targeting "only" the victim, before fleeing, a police source told AFP. According to the embassy, he is a 45-year-old French engineer "on mission" in Bogota for the group of technology and defense. At the moment, the Expodefensa Fair is being held in Bogotá, dedicated to defense and security.
The flight hypothesis
The victim "was in the company of another French, they were coming out of a pizzeria" in the district of Chapinero, located in the north of Bogota, said a police source to AFP. The assassination took place around 10:15 pm (3:15 GMT), Major Robert Mendez, police commander of the Chapinero district, told reporters. "We reject the hypothesis of a robbery.According to the evidence we have there is an assassination perpetrated by a hitman," he said.
Major Mendez said that the man had already been to Colombia in 2017 and that he had "never encountered any problems with anyone during his stay" in the South American country.
The Thales group told Reuters that the colleague who accompanied him to the Colombian capital "was immediately taken in charge by the relevant authorities and Thales management on the spot."
"A Thales team has been dispatched to the scene and is in constant contact with the relevant local authorities and the diplomatic corps," said a spokesman.
With AFP and Reuters