Officers opened fire in Paris’ 11th arrondissement, close to Place de la République, on Sunday evening.
Two investigations have been opened – one by Paris police into the conduct of the victim and one by police watchdog the IGPN into the actions of the officers – and the two officers were detained for questioning.
4 coups de feu place de la fontaine Timbaud, av de la république
Un homme à terre. La police en nombre. Quartier bouclé #Paris11 pic.twitter.com/R9sRRpCQc7— Sabine Syfuss-Arnaud (@SSyfussArnaud) January 22, 2023
Police sources told AFP that that man had been acting in a threatening way towards the officers.
A police source said the man “doesn’t appear to have addressed any particular words to the police but was indeed threatening”.
French media reported that the man had a handgun and had first threatened a dog with the gun. No information has been released about the victim.
The officers were released Monday afternoon without any charges being brought “at this point”, a source in the prosecutor’s office said, adding that the man’s gun was probably a fake.
Several people who witnessed the scene are also to be questioned by investigators.
Calls have been growing in France for checks on police use of deadly force, after 13 people who allegedly refused to obey officers’ orders were killed last year.
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