Muslim youth riots in Paris have stepped up the violence a notch with the introduction of gunfire to their rioting. What’s going on here, the burning of cars are no longer enough for the “Arab and African immigrant youth”?
“More than 100 officers have been wounded, several of them seriously, the police say. Thirty of them were hit with pellets from shotguns, and one of the wounded was hit with a type of bullet used to kill large game, Patrice Ribeiro, a police spokesman, said in a telephone interview. One officer lost an eye; another’s shoulder was shattered by gunfire.
It is legal to own a shotgun in France – if the owner has a license – and police circles were swirling with rumors that the bands of youths were procuring more shotguns. “This is a real guerrilla war,” Ribeiro told RTL radio, warning that police, who have struggled to avoid the use of excessive force, will not be fired upon indefinitely without responding.”
To put the rioting into context, all hell broke loose after two Muslim teenagers were killed when the stolen motorcycle they were riding on rammed into a police car. What happened next is a replay of what took place in 2005, after two Muslim youths electrocuted themselves during their attempt to escape French police. The addition of firearms to the rioting only adds a new dimension to the unrest. *L* KGS
