During the regular protest action of the “yellow vests” movement in Marseille, a police officer fired a projectile from a so-called flash ball into the head of a fourteen-year-old, reports Mediapart.
The incident occurred in Marseille on December 8th. The boy’s sister said in the media commentary that they were on the street, but did not participate in the protest. According to her, when the policeman ran after them, his brother took a piece of apple, which he threw at the police. This happened a moment before they shot at the back and head of the boy with a rubber ball. The girl tried to help her brother, but the policeman knocked her down with her shield.
Thereafter, she took all the necessary steps to “find the police officer guilty,” although the police even tried to reject the registration of the complaint. Now the Marseille’s Prosecutor’s Office has finally begun a preliminary investigation into this fact.
Flash-Ball is a trademark of the French company Verney-Carron, which produces hunting rifles and traumatic weapons. In appearance, Flash-Ball resembles a mini-gun that shoots round rubber balls weighing 28 grams, an area of almost 7 cm and a kinetic energy equal to that of a professional boxer.
This firearm of limited defeat is called “sublethal” in French terminology. Flash-Ball is officially called LBD (lanceur de balle de défense – starting device for defensive bullets). And it repeatedly became the cause of scandals and criticism.