The five victims of a local French gunman dubbed the ‘angel of death’ who went on a rampage near a Dunkirk migrant camp have been pictured. Paul D., 22, killed his former boss, transport company chief Paul Dekeister, 29, in front of his wife and two children at his home in Wormhout, near Dunkirk, on Saturday afternoon in ‘what looked like a targeted assassination’, according to local media. An investigating source said: ‘The killer arrived at the Dekeister’s farmhouse at around 3pm on Saturday and killed Mr Dekeister in front of his family. Mr Dekeister had employed the suspect in a security capacity, and was involved in a dispute.
After the killing, the suspect got into his car and made his way to the area around the migrant camp at Loon-Plage. It is thought that he had a grudge against the migrants living along the coast, and wanted to settle some scores.
Paul D. then saw two Kurds, reportedly aged 19 and 30, standing by the side of a road, close to the migrant camp at Loon-Plage, and shot them both at point-blank-range. The killer ‘left them no chance of survival’, the source told local media.
A 25-year-old Kurdish migrant named Matin who was with the two victims when the gunman ‘showered them with bullets’ with a shotgun told Sky News: ‘Initially, we thought he would fire in the air and then he loaded the gun and aimed at us.
‘We saw Azrael [the Islamic Angel of Death]. We saw death with our own eyes. It was God’s will that we survived. In one day, we saw death twice.’
The alleged killer later shot dead two security guards – identified as father-of-two Marc Lehmhus, 37, and Aurélien Cugny, 33 – working at the Eamus Cork Security company, which assists the police in patrolling the northern French coast.
The security guards had a dog with them at the time, and the animal was unharmed. They had been travelling in their own vehicle, but Paul D. reportedly persuaded them to get out, before killing them.
The gunman claimed to be a ‘former colleague’ of the dead security guards, who he killed following a ‘long-running dispute with the security company’, according to local media.
All those killed received ‘precise shots to the head, suggesting the killer had a lot of experience with firearms,’ the investigating source said.
Special forces police were called to a camp on the Mardyck Road soon after 4pm on Saturday afternoon, following early reports of ‘a lone gunman killing people.’
A source said that all the shootings took place within less than an hour of each other.
The gunman then drove some eight miles to the coastal town Ghyvelde, where he reportedly grew up, and turned himself in to gendarmes at around 5pm, before confessing to all five murders.
His car, a dark grey Berlingo, was parked on Saturday evening in front of the police station gate, in a residential area, AFP noted.
Two men and a woman, relatives of the suspect, left the premises shortly before 10pm, without wishing to comment.
Four weapons were found in Paul D.’s car, and he was the legal owner of a Smith and Wesson 44 Remington rifle because he was registered as a hunter, a gendarmerie spokesman said.
Confirming the arrest, a spokesman for Ghyvelde gendarmes said the man ‘was not known to police,’ suggesting he had no previous criminal record.
A neighbour told Le Parisien that she had known Paul D. for 18 years and that she cannot believe that he admitted to killing five people.
‘He is the nicest guy you could ever know. He is a hunter by nature, but he is a nice guy, he is a truck driver,’ she told the outlet.
On Sunday, the Dunkirk prosecutor opened an investigation into a quintuple murder, saying Paul D. is facing life in prison. The alleged killer is currently being held in custody.
The two migrants who were killed have not yet been named by authorities.
Officials have been left ‘stunned’ by the events with local mayor Eric Rommel saying he ‘cannot understand how this could have happened’.
Mr Rommel added: ‘Our thoughts are with the families of the victims in this terrible ordeal.’
Conclusion:
The gruesome shooting spree in northern France has left the community in shock, with the victims’ families and loved ones struggling to come to terms with the atrocity. The alleged killer, Paul D., has been arrested and is facing life in prison for the five murders, which took place over a period of just an hour. The investigation is ongoing, with officials still trying to piece together the events that led to the tragic incident.
FAQs:
- Who are the victims of the shooting spree?
- The victims include Paul Dekeister, 29, his wife, and two children, as well as two migrants, identified as Kurds, aged 19 and 30.
- How many people were killed in the shooting spree?
- A total of five people were killed in the shooting spree.
- What is the motive behind the shooting spree?
- The motive behind the shooting spree is unclear, but it is believed that the alleged killer, Paul D., had a grudge against the migrants living in the area.
- What is the current status of the investigation?
- The investigation is ongoing, with officials still trying to piece together the events that led to the tragic incident. The alleged killer, Paul D., is currently being held in custody and is facing life in prison.
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