Shots Fired by Railway Security at Austerlitz Station: One Man Brain-Dead, Taxi Driver Injured

A man seriously injured by shots fired by railway security agents this Monday, January 3, at Austerlitz Station in Paris has been declared brain-dead in the evening, according to a statement from the Paris prosecutor’s office. The individual, who had brandished a weapon later identified as fake, was shot in the groin by security forces. A taxi driver, caught in the crossfire, was also slightly injured in the foot.

Man reported for antisemitic graffiti

The intervention of railway security agents was triggered following a report early in the afternoon. Around 2 p.m., a witness alerted RATP agents about a suspicious individual near Line 5, where four swastikas had been discovered. Earlier, around 11 a.m., the same man had already been spotted engraving Nazi symbols on furniture at various stations along Line 9.

A confrontation with tragic consequences

At around 2:30 p.m., as railway security agents attempted to apprehend the individual at Austerlitz Station, he pulled out a handgun, holding it with both hands and pointing it at the officers. Ignoring their orders to drop the weapon, he was shot twice, with one bullet hitting him in the groin.

A taxi driver nearby was hit in the foot by a ricochet and was taken care of by emergency services.

Investigation launched

The railway security officer who fired the shots, a man born in July 1978, was taken into custody for the necessary checks. His service weapon and the used cartridges were seized, and toxicology tests came back negative.

The Paris prosecutor’s office has opened two investigations, both entrusted to the 3rd district of the judicial police, to clarify the circumstances of this tragic incident.