Vénissieux: a man seriously injured in the eye by an LBD shot during a police operation

A man in his twenties was seriously injured in the eye by an LBD shot last Friday in Vénissieux, according to information from Le Progrès confirmed to Le Figaro. Affected in the arch and eyeball, he had to be operated on at the start of the week and risked losing his sight. The public prosecutor has opened an investigation into intentional violence with a weapon by a person holding public authority “aimed at determining the exact conditions and circumstances of this LBD shooting”, the Lyon prosecutor's office tells us.

The events allegedly occurred near a deal point, on Avenue Lénin, plagued by drug trafficking, according to the local newspaper. Agents from the Specialized Field Brigade (BST) are said to have encountered jets of stones while checking a potential customer. They allegedly responded with an LBD shot, a defense weapon which should not be used towards the head according to police doctrine. The young man hit apparently tried to flee before being caught. Known for around ten drug offenses, he was treated at the Édouard Herriot hospital.