Europe 1 with AFP 6:24 p.m., April 3, 2024
The "weapon" seen on Tuesday by a witness in the village of Villefontaine (Isère) and which led to the evacuation of the site by the gendarmerie was a water gun, the prosecution said on Wednesday.
The owner of the toy, an 18-year-old young man, was taken into custody for armed violence after spontaneously presenting himself to the police, the witness having claimed to have seen "a man robbing someone in the parking lot". said Vienna prosecutor Audrey Quey.
“In police custody, he explained, just like his girlfriend, that they had played with a water gun in the parking lot and that the witness could have misunderstood the reality of the situation,” she said. underlines.
Police custody lifted and dismissed
“The fake weapon found in the vehicle was indeed a water pistol. Police custody was lifted and the procedure was dismissed,” she continued.
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The alert was given late Tuesday afternoon following a "report sufficiently worrying to deploy law enforcement", according to the Isère prefecture. Customers and staff present in this outlet shopping center were evacuated "peacefully".
The Villefontaine brand village, located near Lyon along the A43 motorway, is made up of more than a hundred shops at factory prices and welcomes hundreds of visitors per day — nearly 5 million in 2023, according to figures from the Phalsbourg company which manages it.