Teenage shooter, accomplice arrested for killing Afghan refugee in France

By Shweta Desai

PARIS (AA) - Four people, including the suspected shooter and an accomplice, have been arrested in France for the murder of an Afghan man, local media reported on Wednesday.

Abdul Quayyem Ahmadzai, a refugee living in France since 2017, was shot dead in the northeastern city of Colmar on Aug. 14 after confronting a biker doing stunts on a street.

Known locally as urban rodeos, the growing popularity of these high-speed stunt performances has prompted a crackdown in France in recent days.

Police apprehended three people, including an 18-year-old accomplice, in Colmar, while the shooter, 17, was arrested in Sarcelles near Paris on Tuesday, news channel BFMTV reported.

Both have a criminal past and were known to police, the report said.

No details were given about the other two people arrested in Tuesday’s operations.

Catherine Sorita-Minard, the public prosecutor in Colmar, said investigations are continuing following the arrests.

Ahmadzai, 27, worked at a car factory in Mulhouse, while his wife and four children were in Afghanistan.

He had asked the biker to move away from the area and make less noise, according to his friends.

The biker left after a heated argument, but returned with a group of friends and shot Ahmadzai in the chest.

He died a day later in hospital and his body has been sent back to Afghanistan.