Lycean snatched in Tours: a police officer charged and prohibited from wearing an LBD

A police officer was charged with "aggravated violence" on Tuesday, 13 October, 2026, after a 16-year-old high school student was beaten in Tours on 30 September. According to the Public Prosecutor ' s Office, he is placed under judicial supervision with a ban on wearing and possessing a defence bullet launcher (LBD). A second police officer was placed as an assisted witness. These decisions do not definitively resolve criminal responsibilities. [S1] [S2] [S3] [S12]

A serious injury and a family complaint

Maël lost use of his right eye after incidents that occurred when a school was blocked. News Tours specifies that this is the Balzac High School. According to franceinfo, his family filed a complaint on 4 October for "violence by person of public authority". The forensic examinations found injuries compatible with the impact of an LBD bullet, said the prosecutor of the Republic of Tours, Catherine Sorita-Minard. [S2] [S13]

France 24, franceinfo and Ouest-France report the same case and converge on the judicial decisions announced. However, their information is largely based on the communication of the prosecutor ' s office; France 24 and franceinfo also mention AFP. This concordance should therefore not be equated with several independent assessments of the circumstances of the injury. [S1] [S2] [S3]

Two shots, two judicial situations

The investigation carried out by the Inspector General of the National Police (IGPN) identified two LBD shots, carried out by two police officers within one minute. According to the Public Prosecutor's Office, the investigations show a temporal concordance between the first shot and the eye injury. News Tours states, by quoting the prosecutor, that the police officer charged is the one behind this first shot. [S1] [S3] [S13]

Four officials were heard in custody on 13 October. The two police officers who used an LBD were then presented to the investigating judges, who retained different statutes. Several judges have been appointed in the context of judicial information. The prosecutor points out that the complexity of the intervention requires further investigation to clarify the circumstances of the shooting and injury. [S1] [S3]

Actu Tours brings another element: the parquet has returned to the hypothesis of a shock against a wall or a horoderator. According to the press release quoted by the media, the forensic investigations carried out on rue d'Entracigues did not discover any trace of blood on these two media. This finding complements the forensic evidence, without in itself constituting a decision on the guilt of a police officer. [S13]

The justification for each shot remains to be established

At the heart of the instruction is the question of the use of force. The Public Prosecutor's Office refers to "persistent questions" about compliance with the absolute necessity and strict proportion applicable to the use of the LBD. The issue is to examine the actions of each shooter in the specific circumstances of the intervention: the blocking context is not enough to answer these questions. [S1] [S3]

The articles consulted do not detail the threat used to justify each shot, the distances and the explanations of the police officers concerned. They also do not present an argument from their lawyers which makes it possible to fully confront the defence with the evidence made public by the prosecution. Loss of eye use is reported; the exact conditions under which it occurred remain under investigation. [S1] [S2] [S3] [S13]

Specific remedies and restrictions

The indictment is not a conviction. Public Service recalls that it is decided by an investigating judge when there are serious or consistent indications against a person suspected of an offence. It also grants him rights to defend himself. The announcement of 13 October therefore does not allow the policeman to be found guilty. [S12]

The prohibition on wearing and possessing an LBD is, however, a concrete restriction announced in this case. Sources do not report a professional suspension: these two measures should not be confused. In the case of the family, the opening of judicial information now makes it possible to institute civil proceedings, according to the prosecutor cited by Actu Tours. The media does not specify whether this has already been done. [S1] [S2] [S13]

At the level of the high school movement, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced on 13 October the opening of 36 IGPN investigations for alleged violence, four of which involved injuries that were described as maiming. This report goes beyond the records of Tours: it does not constitute an established count of guilt or additional evidence against the police officers involved in this investigation. [S1] [S3]