He was the subject of an international search warrant. On Monday April 3, a 22-year-old man was arrested in Mamoudzou by the Mayotte police services. Arrived in Rennes on Tuesday, he was placed in police custody. He is the main suspect in the Maurepas settling of scores. It was in this working-class district of Rennes that two men were killed and another seriously injured on March 28 in a probable settling of scores against the backdrop of drug trafficking. According to the public prosecutor of Rennes, the main suspect has “no criminal record”. Philippe Astruc specifies that the suspect’s companion was also arrested but in mainland France. She was taken into custody.
The young age of the respondent and the submachine gun used by the author of the shots particularly question the magistrate, who evokes a “totally uninhibited recourse to the most extreme violence, the price of human life becoming negligible”. That evening, 16 impacted 9mm cases and a non-impacted 12mm caliber cartridge were found under the arches of the Groschen slab. One had hit a 34-year-old man born in Cayenne in the head, killing him instantly. A second 29-year-old man born in Martinique was shot in the chest, flank and thigh and died at the scene. Arrived on foot with his face hidden under a motorcycle helmet, the shooter left on foot in the direction of rue de la Marbaudais just after the shots, which also hit a 25-year-old man. The latter had presented himself the same evening at the CHU Pontchaillou with bullets in the leg.
According to several sources, the brother of one of the victims had already been the target of violence with a weapon the day before the double murder. Facts confirmed by the prosecutor. “There could be a link but that remains to be verified,” replied Philippe Astruc. These “extremely serious” facts had shaken the entire city of Rennes, unaccustomed to settling scores at gunpoint.
The police too much solicited by the demonstrations?
In 2022, the Maurepas district had however been the scene of automatic weapon fire targeting the police. A man had also been stabbed to death in the middle of the street. Since then, the situation seemed to have calmed down, even if the inhabitants describe “a permanent deal point” held every day by hooded individuals. To explain this sudden resurgence of violence against the background of drug trafficking, the prosecutor Philippe Astruc put forward a track. “It can be observed that the very strong mobilization of the police services in law enforcement missions since January could only penalize us in securing and dealing with drug resale areas”, indicated the prosecutor, considering that “the police are no longer in the neighborhoods”. The CRS8 had landed this weekend to secure the area and “harass the deal points”.