Tragic Death of Teen After World Cup Match Shocks Montpellier Community

"People have their nerves," says Bachir, one of Aymen’s uncles, to Midi Libre. "It’s unfortunate to come to this for football. This match was a joy for us. Now we feel attacked," laments Lhoussine Tahri, the president of the Averroès mosque. On Thursday, Lemnouar, Aymen’s father, received in the family apartment in Celleneuve the visit of his friends, teachers, colleagues who came to show their support, express the esteem and affection for the 4th grade student at the Escholiers de la Mosson college and his family. "He was loved, everyone appreciated him in La Paillade and Celleneuve. He was helpful, often came to help my mother carry bags. On Thursday morning, my father, who was returning from Morocco, hugged him to tell him that he had missed him," testifies Jibril, his cousin.

Witness to the events, he recounts that the victim had his head on the ground and was only moving his leg after being hit by a crazy car. "Then, at the hospital, when I learned that he had died, I fainted," he continues. Azeddin, a close friend, describes the events as a "terrorist act". "Me, if they tear off a scarf, I’m not going to kill with a knife. But a car, it’s a weapon, he didn’t think about it but it was prepared, his thing. There was a victim, but there could have been three or four. For me, it was a terrorist act." According to him, several provocations had preceded the events, including the exit of a "blank caliber". "They were looking for trouble. They were driving at high speed on Rue de Saragosse and turned towards the shops. I had the impression that the driver was not in his normal state," Bachir added.

Aymen’s family is asking for only one thing: justice for the teenager. "What we want is for justice to be done, for the guilty party to be imprisoned, serve his sentence and suffer," demands Said, the victim’s older brother. "It’s a murder for a piece of blue-white-red cloth for a simple flag. To do that, you can’t be in a stable state but what we want is appeasement." After the teenager’s death, an investigation was opened for "aggravated fatal blows with a weapon by destination, in this case the car."