He had set a whole building on fire by burning a stroller.
In 2014, a young boy, aged 12 at the time of the facts, had caused a terrible fire which had devastated the last five floors of a HLM building in Aubervilliers, in Seine-Saint-Denis.
This Monday, May 17, seven years after the facts, the trial of the boy, now aged 19, opened in the Bobigny children's court, reports
Le Parisien
, adding that, at the time, a dozen of people had lodged a complaint.
To discover
Deconfinement: what will change this Wednesday for the French
Read also: Aubervilliers: a 12-year-old boy admits to having set on fire
At the time of the tragedy, two undocumented migrants stood out by saving several people: they knocked on the doors of each floor to warn the inhabitants, shouting that they should not go down, so as not to be trapped by the flames.
With several residents, the two roommates had managed to escape through the scaffolding of the building.
Other residents were not so lucky: two women aged 25 and 23, one of whom was pregnant, had lost her life breaking out of the window, hoping to escape the flames.
A man, the husband of one of the victims, seriously burned, died in hospital a few days later, specifies
Le Parisien
.
Read also: Fire on rue Fondary: the trial suspended at its opening because of Covid
The child at the origin of the fire had been indicted and placed in a home of the Social Assistance to Children in Seine-Saint-Denis.
Her 10-year-old brother had been placed temporarily in another foster home.
A judicial investigation for "arson resulting in death" had been opened, a crime punishable by life imprisonment.
In 2018, still in Aubervilliers, a similar fire was caused by a 10-year-old child who was playing with a lighter and a tea towel. The tragedy had made four victims, including a 33-year-old pregnant mother. Her children, aged 18 months, 4 years and 6 years, had also perished in the flames. About 300 people had been evacuated and six residents transported to the emergency room.
