A situation that worries the authorities. After a second attack in Grande-Synthe (North) in less than a week, the prefect of the North asked the national police to strengthen the police system in life, Le Parisien learned from the prefecture, this Saturday, April 20 .
This strengthening of the police force is effective now, said the Northern prefecture, without giving further details.
A trap "
At the start of the week, the town of Grande-Synthe was shaken by the death of Philippe Coopman. This 22-year-old young man was beaten to death on the night of Monday April 15 to Tuesday April 16. Two minors aged 14 and 15, suspected of having organized an ambush via a dating site, were arrested and indicted for “assassination”, indicated the public prosecutor of Dunkirk during a conference of press, Friday evening.
In police custody, they explained that they had used a tear gas bomb against the victim, who allegedly fell before being hit. The 14-year-old minor admitted to kicking without intending to kill, the other admitted to his presence, but denied having kicked. Philippe Coopman's cell phone was stolen during the attack. The 22-year-old man was found without shoes and with his pants down.
One of the two minors admitted to organizing an “ambush” via a free discussion site, according to information from Le Parisien. The teenagers allegedly lured Philippe to the Grande-Synthe parking lot, by offering him a date. To do this, they would have hidden themselves under the guise of a young girl, a minor, during their digital conversations. Before the investigators, the two accused explained that they felt that responding to an ad for a young minor was “reprehensible for them”.
Both suspects are known to the police. The 14-year-old minor was found guilty of acts of violence in 2023, while the 15-year-old minor had already been sentenced for damage in March 2022 and gang theft in August 2023. One resides in Dunkirk, the other in Grande-Synthe.
The two minors could also be involved in an attempted attack, which occurred two days before the murder of Philippe Coopman. According to our colleagues from La Voix du Nord, on the night of April 13 to 14, a 39-year-old man, who thought he was meeting with a young woman, found himself facing several individuals armed with baseball bats and of a hatchet. He managed to escape and notify the police.
An investigation is underway into other attacks committed in similar circumstances, explained the prosecutor, inviting potential victims or witnesses to come forward. The prosecution was also the recipient of “a new previous complaint” on Friday morning, she indicated, adding that the defendants had not yet been heard on “the other facts”.
A cousin of the two minors indicted for assaulted murder
Less than a week after the fatal lynching of Philippe Coopman, a second attack took place in Grande-Synthe, on the night of Friday April 19 to Saturday April 20. A 15-year-old teenager was violently attacked by several people, who stole some of his clothes, in particular his tracksuit and his sneakers, Le Parisien learned from the Dunkirk public prosecutor's office this Saturday.
According to the teenager, he had a meeting with two acquaintances in the evening. But there, two hooded men appeared and hit him in the face and ribs. After being found and rescued by a passerby, the young man was taken to hospital. His condition is stable.
An investigation was opened by the Dunkirk public prosecutor's office for "intentional violence in meetings leading to incapacity for work for more than 8 days". She was entrusted to the personal violence group of the local Dunkirk judicial police service.
According to the first elements of the investigation, the minor attacked is the cousin of one of the people indicted on Friday in the death of Philippe Coopman, specifies Charlotte Huet. According to the prosecutor, unlike the fatal attack on Philippe Coopman, "these are not acts committed following an appointment on a dating site", adds the magistrate. However, “it is not possible to reliably conclude on the motive”, the attacked teenager having not been heard for the moment, specified Charlotte Huet.