Four minors were indicted and imprisoned for “attempted assassination” and “voluntary violence in a meeting” after the attack with an ax in the RER E on Monday, AFP learned Thursday from the Melun prosecutor’s office.
According to a police source, these suspects are aged 16 and 17.
The trail of an attack linked to a rivalry between gangs from different neighboring towns is confirmed, the prosecution had previously indicated.
The suspects live in the town of Ozoir-la-Ferrière, where the attack took place, while the victims live mainly in Roissy-en-Brie, the police source said.
Monday morning, around 8:00 a.m., four high school students, aged 15 to 17, were on the RER E. As the train arrived at Ozoir-la-Ferrière station, the group of attackers, made up of 8 to 10 people , entered the train and triggered the alarm to immobilize it.
Inside, they beat the targeted teenagers, who are used to sitting in the same place on the RER. The latter were attacked with an axe, an Opinel-type knife, tear gas and a baseball bat.
They were injured in the head, arm and hand. One of them risks losing his little finger.
Among the four victims, two were seriously injured and hospitalized, the other two more lightly.
According to a police source, the main perpetrator, aged 16, was arrested the same day at his home. An ax and a knife were found there.
According to another police source, another attack – probably linked to the facts – took place Tuesday evening in Pontault-Combault.
A 17-year-old teenager, resident of the town and attending school in Ozoir-la-Ferrière, was violently attacked and left with several fractures.
Attacks between rival gangs are regular in Seine-et-Marne, leading to interventions by the police for armed gatherings of dozens of adolescents and young men and violence in meetings, unrelated to drug trafficking.
The phenomenon is particularly present in the Ile-de-France region, which has experienced several deaths of minors in recent years.
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