A 17-year-old who refused to stop on Tuesday outside of Paris after being told to do so by traffic police was shot and killed by French police.
A police officer is seen in a video making the rounds on social media pointing a gun at a car's driver before a shot is fired. Suddenly coming to a stop, the car.
The teenager was given resuscitation attempts by emergency personnel, but he passed away soon after.
In custody on suspicion of homicide is the police officer who is alleged to have fired the shot.
Two police officers are seen in the video attempting to stop the car, which the AFP news agency has confirmed. One shoots what appears to be a point-blank shot at the driver through the window as he tries to take off.
When the shooting occurred, there were two more people in the car. While another was being arrested, one of the passengers fled.
The head of the Paris police, Laurent Nuez, told French television station BFMTV that the officer may have felt threatened, but that the officer's actions "raise questions.".
Yassine Bouzrou, the family's attorney, told the same channel that the video "clearly showed a policeman killing a young man in cold blood" and insisted that this was an invalid defense.
The family had complained to the police for "lying," he continued, after initially claiming the car had tried to run down the officers.
In Nanterre, where the teen was killed, a number of protests broke out on Tuesday night in response to the shooting.
Fireworks were set off, along with the torching of cars, trash bins, and wooden pallets. According to authorities, seven people were detained after arguing with riot police there.
Jennifer Cambla, another attorney working on behalf of the victim's family, told the local media that the death was an "execution" and that nothing could possibly justify what had happened.
The two officers involved in the incident were being questioned by police, French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin informed parliament on Tuesday. He called the social media video "extremely shocking.".
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, a prominent member of the left, offered the teen's family his "heartfelt condolences.". In a tweet, he stated, "No officer has the right to kill unless in self-defense.
"This out-of-control police force tarnishes the legitimacy of the state. It needs to be completely redone," he continued.
In the western French town of Angouleme, police shot and killed a 19-year-old two weeks ago.
