French police fatally shot a 35-year-old African migrant under psychiatric care after he threatened officers while armed with a knife.
The incident took place in the commune of La Talaudière in central France on Monday at 8 pm when the man’s wife and son-in-law called the police after locking him in their family apartment.
When police arrived, officers claimed that the man, originally from West Africa, approached them with a knife in his hand. Officers attempted to subdue the African with an electric pulse gun twice, but he would not stop, so one of the officials opened fire, La Depeche reports.
The African is said to have died at the scene a few minutes after being shot and had no prior convictions or cases of violence in the past. The 35-year-old had been released from a psychiatric hospital just a day before the shooting, where he had checked himself in.
The General Inspectorate of the National Police (IGPN) and the public prosecutor’s office have stated they will conduct an investigation into the shooting, which was allegedly recorded on video by the man’s son-in-law.
The incident comes just over a month after an illegal migrant from Haiti was fatally shot in Ermont-Eaubonne at the town’s railway station after he brandished a knife and threatened to kill children who were nearby.
Police claimed that the armed man yelled at them saying, “Kill me, or I kill the children!” before the railway officers officials opened fire.
Similar cases shave been reported in other European countries in recent weeks as well, such as in Germany where a Somali migrant was shot in Frankfurt after attacking a man with a knife and threatening to kill police officers.
The 27-year-old Somali national reacted to police ordering him to drop his weapon by saying “I kill you” before he was shot several times and wounded in the leg.
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