Fatal fire in Paris: an explosion to cover up a gunshot death?

One of the victims of the fire which broke out in a building in the 11th arrondissement of Paris on Sunday April 7 was found with a gunshot wound to the head. The origin of the explosion remains to be determined.

An explosion and fire that covered up a gunshot death? The drama which unfolded in the building at 146 rue de Charonne, in the 11th arrondissement of Paris, on Sunday evening took a completely different turn. Investigators discovered on the body of one of the two deceased victims found in the rubble an orifice caused by a firearm in the head. After this discovery, the investigations of the investigation opened for "destruction by fire or dangerous means" and "involuntary homicides" entrusted to investigators from the 2nd judicial police district of the capital returned to the criminal brigade.

Investigators are still responsible for understanding the sequence of events between the circumstances of the death of the three victims, particularly the one with a gunshot wound, and the causes of the explosion. Several witnesses living in the building devoured by the flames or neighboring homes told the media, including Le Parisien, that they had heard several detonations during the day on Sunday before the explosion. “At least three explosions were heard coming from the housing [where the fire started], during the day on Sunday, including one just before the start of the fire” confirmed a source close to the case to BFMTV . The fire was brought under control and extinguished in the evening thanks to the mobilization of 66 firefighters and 17 engines.

The fire broke out on the seventh floor of a building which has eight floors and located at 146 rue de Charonne, in the 11th arrondissement of Paris, shortly after 8 p.m. and after an explosion. Despite the evacuation of residents of the building and occupants of neighboring homes, the tragedy left three people dead. Two people were unable to escape the flames and were found in an apartment. The first investigations made it possible to discover the traces of a wound possibly caused by a firearm, without making it possible to specify whether these are the marks of a murder or a suicide. No weapons were found in the rubble of the building.

The third victim, presented as the occupant of the home where the fire started, died while trying to escape through the window. After trying to reach a neighboring apartment via the facade, the man ran out of the window. According to a source from BFMTV, “the man who fell into the void was found in possession of several different identity documents” and two of the victims were identified.

The explosion caused the fire as reported by several testimonies which mention an detonation just before the fire started. But the reasons for this explosion still remain unknown. The gas hypothesis, which was at the origin of previous incidents of the same type, was mentioned but is refuted by the deputy mayor of the 11th arrondissement of Paris: "It is not city gas because the building doesn’t have one.” The police, however, do not completely rule out this possibility, the elected official also admitted on franceinfo: “It is perhaps a city cylinder as some police officers suspect. It is not at all substantiated at this stage." The president of the condominium trustee, however, is of the same opinion as the elected official, as he informed Le Parisien: "There is no gas in the building which was renovated two years ago." According to him, the building dating from the 1970s "is perfectly maintained" and cannot have been the victim of a gas leak.

Several residents considered an electricity-related accident. "For me it can't be gas. The explosion that occurred in the evening was a small boom, like a TV exploding" one of them declared to the Ile-de-France newspaper. But for others, it’s certain: “It’s not electricity that can do such damage.”

With the discovery of an injury that could have been caused by a firearm on one of the victims, the hypothesis that the detonation corresponds to a gunshot can be considered. And was the fire caused to cover up the victim's death? This is a question that investigators must provide answers to. For the moment, investigations are continuing and the Paris public prosecutor's office has indicated that "any communication concerning this investigation appears premature".