Shooting in a college in Aubagne: Accused of having fired, the 14-year-old schoolboy imprisoned

In Bouches-du-Rhône, justice is moving forward over the shooting in a college in Aubagne. The 14-year-old schoolboy who shot and injured a principal and a teacher was placed in pre-trial detention on Wednesday.

“This day was long and trying and ended immediately before the judge of freedoms and detention, as could be expected, with the incarceration of my client,” his lawyer Fabrice Giletta told the press. The minor was “indicted” and “placed in pre-trial detention, in accordance with our requisitions”, echoed the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office (Pnat), in charge of the case.

No “psychological pathology”, according to the Pnat

Earlier in the day, the schoolboy admitted “to having been influenced” by a movement fascinated by mass killings, mentioned the Pnat. This prosecution also explained that “the psychological examination carried out during the time of police custody did not conclude that there was a psychological pathology” for the adolescent.

“This is said too quickly,” nuanced Me Giletta, who thinks “that the investigation will also aim to explore this aspect of things through expert assessments”. “Today, what we can say is that it is a 14-year-old minor who is becoming aware of the objective seriousness of the acts committed,” added his lawyer. Mr. Giletta further emphasized that “with regard to homicidal intent, my client disputes it, indicating that he had taken care to target areas which were not lethal”, elements already disclosed by the Pnat.

The suspect invokes a “desire for revenge”

The teenager, who was questioned during the day at the Paris judicial court by an investigating judge, is suspected of being part of a movement fascinated by mass killings, with his “probable membership in the True Crime Community (TCC)”, according to the anti-terrorism prosecution. However, if he “admits to having been influenced” by this “community”, the minor denies “having registered his action in the name of the TCC”, reports the Pnat. The suspect rather invokes a “desire for revenge, due to harassment by teachers and his classmates” which is not corroborated at this stage of the investigations.

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In addition, contrary to what leaks about the investigation in the press may have indicated, the teenager "did not express any regrets" during his custody, a source close to the case also told AFP.