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17-year-old Nahel M was shot dead in the early hours of Tuesday in Paris’ Nelson Mandela Square. The killing has sparked massive outrage in France and has led to violent protests with hundreds of people getting arrested as well. As many continue to fight against the systemic police abuse, netizens have expressed their anger over the viral video of the fatal shooting that has appeared online.
Disclaimer: This article contains information about a shooting. Readers' discretion is advised.
Meanwhile, a police officer responsible for the youngster’s death remains in custody.
Several videos of the shooting from different angles have appeared online. In one, netizens could see Nahel M’s yellow Mercedes. One could hear a police officer say in French:
“I’m going to put a bullet in your head.”
A second officer can then be heard saying, “shoot!”
In another video, the police can be seen fatally shooting the teenager as their pistol is raised and pointing towards Nahel’s head.
Nahel M died at the scene as his car rolled forward and halted after hitting a utility pole. Two other people were present in the vehicle. One spoke to law enforcement, while the other person fled the scene.
According to a local news outlet, the police officer who fired at the youngster did so for many reasons, one of them being their desire to stop Nahel’s vehicle from potentially hitting someone. According to the BBC, the vehicle, which held a Polish number plate, was stopped by the police because he was too young to have a driving license.
Netizens respond to the viral videos of Nahel M getting shot
Internet users are unsurprisingly outraged by the incident. Many could not believe that the police officers found a 17-year-old to be a threat. Several people found the incident awfully similar to the death of George Floyd, who died from police brutality.
Netizens were also exasperated by the incident, as some officials and media outlets attempted to portray Nahel M as a criminal by saying that he was subjected to five police checks in 2021. They also claimed that the youngster held a criminal record. However, this is far from the truth.
Netizens have endlessly expressed outrage over the incident online.
Everything to know about Nahel M
Nahel M, who is of Algerian descent, lived with his mouther Mounia in the Vieux Point neighbourhood of Nanterre, just nine miles away from central Paris. He had been playing for the Pirates of Nanterre rugby club for the past three years.
He was also a student at the Ovale Citoyen, which helped students from oppressed localities join the workforce. News outlets claimed that the youngster was studying to be an electrician until he recently abandoned the course to become a delivery driver for a local foot shop.
Following his death, his mother Mounia lamented her son's demise:
“What am I going to do now? I devoted everything to him. I’ve only got one, I haven’t got 10. He was my life, my best friend.”
Speaking about her grandson, his grandmother called him a “kind, good boy.”
Protest has grown to unimaginable scales, with 875 people getting arrested following the death of Nahel. Authorities have promised to hold the policemen accountable for their actions as public demonstrations rage on.
