On the night of Saturday to Sunday, a brawl broke out in Coignières in the Yvelines, killing a 14-year-old teenager.
A “family” event that turns to tragedy. The Moulin à Vent gymnasium in Coignières in the Yvelines organized mixed martial arts (MMA) fights on the evening of this Saturday, bringing together parents and children.
Around midnight, at the end of the event, two gangs of young people clash outside the establishment. According to the first elements of the investigation, the brawl opposed young people from Maurepas and Coignières.
A 14-year-old boy was killed during the clasheswheras’another 16-year-old presented himself at the Argenteuil police station (Val-d’Oise) claiming to be the perpetrator of the murder.
• How did the fight break out?
In the evening, while the 300 spectators were still gathered in the Moulin à Vent gymnasium, around fifteen people showed up at the entrance to the gymnasium. They then explain that they want to enter the room to join their friends who were, according to them, “in the process of getting confused”. One of the security guards refuses them access to the room.
The group, obviously excited, then waits in front of the gymnasium. Ten minutes later, two young men come out of the room. The group advances towards them and surrounds them.
One of the youngsters utters insults immediately provoking a violent fight. Other people present on the spot then join the fight. At the same time, mortar fire rings out.
• Who is the victim?
“He was not a fighter”, confided to our colleagues from RTL the mother of Djibril, 14, killed during the brawl. Coming from Maurepas, a neighboring town of Coignières and populated by around 17,000 inhabitants, the victim was present with his father at this sports gala. She was not known to the police.
His mother, who said she was “devastated”, added that “everyone loved him (…) he took care of everyone, especially me”.
During the brawl, Djibril received blows to the head which will be fatal to him, indicated the prosecutor’s office of Versailles.
The blows could have been struck with a hammer, according to a police source. The victim died around 1 a.m., despite attempts to resuscitate the emergency services.
• What is the profile of the main suspect?
A 16-year-old went Sunday afternoon to the Argenteuil police station (Val-d’Oise) where he presented himself as the perpetrator of the murder of the 14-year-old minor in the Yvelines. He confessed to having participated in the brawl and to having struck the victim with a hammer. He was taken into custody.
According to our information, Nolan, this young man from Coignières, explained to the investigators that he had felt threatened in the context of the brawl. He said he “defended himself”.
The first elements of the investigation indicated that he had been locked in the gymnasium by witnesses, before fleeing through a window. His police custody was extended on Monday afternoon and he will be presented to an investigating judge on Tuesday afternoon.
Regarding his criminal record, according to our information, the young man had been placed under the status of witness assisted by a juvenile judge in June 2021 for “participation in a group with a view to committing violence or degradation”, but he there were no convictions. Since then, he hadn’t been talked about anymore.
• Why do the two bands clash?
“There is a ‘historic’ rivalry between the young people of the two towns, but that has never resulted in something so violent”, explained a source within the town hall of Coignières. Indeed, the two bands came from the district of the Friches de Maurepas and the Marchands de Coignières.
However, the two cities are not known to be theaters of excessive violence.
“We are a quiet town, we have an extremely low crime rate”, underlined the source of the town hall of Coignières.
A resident of the Friches district recalled a history of violence due to this “rivalry”. “There has already been a young person from Les Friches who was stabbed by a young person from there a few years ago,” she explained.
What led up to this Saturday night episode? For now, there is nothing to answer this question.
• Why do we fear an escalation?
From now on, the time is for prevention in the two districts, to avoid a “return match”, these revenges which often follow a brawl.
“The mayor of Coignières has already agreed with the police on a plan to secure the territory to fight effectively against any hint of reprisals,” said the town hall in a press release.
The CRS 8, an intervention unit specializing in urban violence, was sent to the area to prevent further violence, according to the Ministry of the Interior.
The day after the tragedy, Yann Lamothe, an educator present at the scene of the tragedyand several other educators have tried to ease the tension in these two communes of Yvelines to prevent the situation from escalating even more.
“With the other grown-ups of my age, of my generation, we toured the different neighborhoods to discuss with the young people, to explain to them that the attitude, the behavior and above all the one-upmanship does not make sense, to avoid that ‘there is a new drama,’ he assured on BFMTV.
Original article published on BFMTV.com
VIDEO – A young person in police custody after the fatal brawl for a 14-year-old in the Yvelines
What we know about the fight that left one dead in the Yvelines