Philippe C., 23, beaten to death on the night of Monday to Tuesday, near Carrefour City in Grande-Synthe (North). The two suspects, aged 14 and 15, allegedly set a trap for the victim by simulating a date with a young girl.
Investigators are looking into whether other men may have fallen into such digital ambushes in recent months in the region. They would have come into contact with numerous Internet users with the idea of “punishing” those who responded to requests to meet a teenager. The gang is thus suspected of being at the origin of violence committed two days earlier against a 39-year-old man who had been given an intimate meeting. Miraculously, the victim managed to escape. The first investigations by the Lille criminal brigade reveal that the suspects were not at their first attempt. They allegedly lured him onto this “free chat site, without registration” by posing as a girl wanting to meet someone romantically.