The driver behind the death of a 14-year-old teenager during the celebrations in Montpellier of the semi-final of the Football World Cup has “been identified” but he is still “actively sought”, indicated Friday the prefect of the Herault.
The driver of the vehicle fled on Wednesday evening following hitting the boy in circumstances that have yet to be clarified. The teenager died shortly following his medical treatment.
“The driver, who has been identified, is actively sought by the police. Justice is doing its work”, assured the prefect Hugues Moutouh in a press release.
After the death of the teenager, named Aymen, scuffles took place in the night from Thursday to Friday in two underprivileged districts of Montpellier, at La Paillade, where the fatal accident took place, and at Petit Bard. Several garbage cans and a car were set on fire and an apartment was ransacked.
In his press release on Friday, the prefect called for “calm” and “appeasement”. “Many untruths and false information circulate on social networks, helping to excite the spirits”, he explained, adding that “provocations to hatred, wherever they come from, such as calls to private revenge, are not only irresponsible, but also unacceptable. No act of violence, whatever the motivation, can be tolerated”.
Aymen’s family had also called on Thursday “for the greatest calm” in a statement communicated at his request by the town hall of Montpellier, assuring his “confidence in the institutions of the Republic”.
Mr. Moutouh specified that two units of mobile forces with 160 CRS and gendarmes as well as several anti-crime brigades (BAC) are “regarding to be deployed in Montpellier in order to ensure the safety of people and to prevent possible disturbing public order”.
A tribute ceremony took place Friday at the college of Montpellier where the boy was educated, in the presence of the mayor of Montpellier Mickaël Delafosse and the rector of the academy Sophie Bejean.
The victim’s history and geography teacher, Julien Frayssinhes, described the teenager as a “solar child, adorable, full of energy, joy and good humor”. His plastic arts teacher recalled that Aymen liked to “ask at the end of class if he had worked well”.