A 39-year-old man is in extremely serious condition after being shot in the head by his neighbour.
The tragedy occurred on Wednesday evening in the town of Bessières, near Toulouse.
The armed madman took refuge in his home all night before being arrested.
A refused cigarette would be at the origin of the altercation.
The vital prognosis of a 39-year-old man was still very involved in the middle of the morning.
This resident of Bessières, northeast of Toulouse, received a bullet in the face on Wednesday evening, fired by another resident of the town, after an altercation on a futile basis.
The armed suspect then took refuge in his home, mobilizing around fifty gendarmes, including GIGN specialists, all night.
The Toulouse prosecutor's office gave details on Thursday noon on the circumstances of this tragedy and on the arrest of the madman in the early morning.
How did the dispute start?
It all happened around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday evening, on the banks of the Tarn river.
“A resident of Bessières has an altercation near his home with a group of younger people (…) on the pretext of a cigarette that he would have asked for and that they would have refused him”, indicates Samuel Vuelta-Simon, the public prosecutor of Toulouse.
“Dissatisfied, this resident leaves the premises to probably go get a firearm at his home, before returning to the group”, continues the magistrate.
After a new exchange, a shot went off and the victim collapsed, "very seriously hit in the head".
The shooter returned home, where he took refuge.
What device was deployed?
In the presence of an armed madman, the gendarmes had to quickly cordon off the center of Bessières to bring the inhabitants to safety.
In total, around fifty gendarmes from Occitanie and Haute-Garonne were mobilized throughout the night.
To reason with the suspect, the Toulouse branch of the GIGN was called on the spot and it was its negotiator who made the first contact.
It was relayed by that of the national unit of the GIGN, which arrived from its HQ in Satory in two helicopters.
The exchanges, "first by telephone, then in person with the respondent, made it possible to convince him to leave his home and call him gently around 6:30 am", details Samuel Vuelta Simon.
What is the profile of the fanatic?
The man arrested, retired from the army, is 49 years old.
He was placed in police custody this Thursday morning as part of an investigation for "attempted assassination" entrusted to the gendarmes of the Toulouse research brigade.
According to the testimonies collected on the spot by
La Dépêche du Midi
, the suspect lives alone with his dog, has alcohol problems and a disturbing psychiatric profile.
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Miscellaneous facts
Toulouse
Gendarmerie
Murder
GIGN
Investigation
Occitania