Bogota (AFP)

A French engineer Thales group was shot dead Monday evening in the street in a posh neighborhood of Bogota by a "hitman" who then fled, we learned from the Colombian police and embassy of France.

The victim "was in the company of another French, they were coming out of a pizzeria" located near the 93rd Street Park, in the district of Chapinero, located in the north of Bogota, said a police source at the AFP.

The killer "came from behind", targeting "only" the victim, before fleeing, continued the source, according to which the scene took place very close to the French Embassy in Colombia.

According to the police officer, who was speaking on condition of anonymity, the victim's name was Philippe Cavaillés, aged 45 and living in the Toulouse region of southwestern France.

Tuesday afternoon, small spots of blood were still visible on the asphalt, where the victim was shot in front of a stationery, AFP found.

Interviewees said they knew nothing about what had happened the day before a Novotel hotel in this trendy area of ​​the Colombian capital where there are many bars and restaurants.

The assassination took place around 22H15 (03H15 GMT), told the press Major Robert Mendez, commander of the police of the district of Chapinero. "We reject the hypothesis of a robbery.According to the evidence we have, it is an assassination perpetrated by a hitman," he said.

According to the embassy, ​​the victim was a French engineer "on mission" in Bogota for the French technology and defense group.

At present, the Expodefensa exhibition on defense and security is taking place in Bogotá, where Thales has a booth among dozens of other exhibitors.

Interviewed by AFP on the spot, a Thales communication officer said that the victim "did not participate" in the show. "He was working on a civilian project," added Patrick Colas of the Franks, the co-organizer of Expodefensa.

According to the police source interviewed by AFP, the victim "had to return" Wednesday.

Major Mendez of the Colombian police said that the man had already been to Colombia in 2017 and that he had "never had a problem, never got in trouble with anyone during his stay" in the southern country. American.

The group said a team "has been dispatched to the site and is in constant contact with the relevant local authorities and the diplomatic corps".

© 2019 AFP