France’s anti-terrorism prosecutor has taken over the investigation into a school shooting near Marseille after investigators found the 14-year-old suspect appeared to be linked to the online True Crime Community.
The pupil allegedly used a hunting rifle hidden in a guitar case to shoot and wound two teachers at the school on Monday. The incident caused panic as children ran for cover.
The Marseille Prosecutor’s Office relinquished jurisdiction on Tuesday, the anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office said.
“Initial investigations, including an analysis of the minor’s digital devices, indicate probable affiliation with the True Crime Community (TCC) movement and suggest that the criminal act committed at his school was motivated by this ideology,” prosecutors said in a statement.
They described the TCC as “an ecosystem of online communities that glorifies perpetrators of mass killings and, in certain ways, incites the use of extreme violence”.
The new investigation includes allegations of attempted murder linked to a terrorist enterprise, participation in a terrorist criminal conspiracy intended to commit crimes against people, and weapons offences connected to a terrorist enterprise.
During questioning, the teenager spoke of feelings of revenge towards teachers and expressed regret, broadcaster BFMTV reported, citing investigative sources.
He reportedly said he had felt uneasy at school and in his private life, and disliked the headmaster because of the way he spoke to him.
Several hunting rifles were found at the family home, according to BFMTV. The boy’s father, a former competitive shooter and soldier, reportedly kept them legally in a locked gun cabinet.
The pupil told investigators he had taken the cabinet key to obtain one of the rifles, the broadcaster reported.
