Trappes racist attack: suspect briefly hospitalised after suicide attempt

Kévin Tessier, the suspect in the racist attack in Trappes and La Verrière, in the Yvelines department west of Paris, attempted suicide in detention, BFMTV revealed on Tuesday. He was briefly hospitalised and his life is no longer in danger, according to the channel. According to France 24, the incident occurred a few days ago and he has returned to his cell. The prison service did not comment to BFMTV.

His lawyers regret the disclosure

His lawyers, Baptiste Bellet and Eliott Amzallag, regret the swift disclosure of an act which, in their view, belongs to the strictest privacy. They want his detention to take place in the best possible conditions. For them, the act raises legitimate questions about their client's psychological state, which they say will have to be the subject of a thorough medical assessment.

One dead and seven injured

The attack took place on 23 October. Pengo Bossio Wangi, a 26-year-old French national originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was killed. Seven other people were injured, four of them seriously, according to franceinfo.

Kévin Tessier, 39, was placed under formal investigation on 29 October by an anti-terrorism judge for murder and attempted murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise, with racist aggravating circumstances, then remanded in custody at the request of the national anti-terrorism prosecutor's office (Pnat). He remains presumed innocent.

According to anti-terrorism prosecutor Olivier Christen, the suspect admitted carrying out the attack and acting with premeditation, specifically targeting people he perceived as Muslim, African or North African. He denies, however, any terrorist intent. Around thirty far-right stickers were found at his home.

One element is fuelling questions: the man had been arrested three days before the attack, after hitting a Black man at a petrol station. He had then been released, pending a hearing set for the very day of the attack.

The victim's family

Pengo Bossio Wangi's father has reportedly not received condolences from the President of the Republic, according to his lawyer, Zineb Alami, whose comments were relayed on franceinfo's morning programme on Wednesday.

What now?

The anti-terrorism investigation continues. The suspect, who admits the acts, disputes their terrorist nature, and his lawyers are calling for a thorough medical assessment.

If you are in distress or having suicidal thoughts, or if someone close to you is affected, 3114, France's national suicide prevention line, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.