A French policeman, who shot dead a young man in western France earlier this week, sparking three nights of rioting in Nantes, changed his explanation of the death on Friday, saying he fired his weapon by accident, reports FRANCE 24.
The officer had initially claimed he acted in self-defence while trying to arrest the 22-year-old in the city of Nantes on July 3rd, but he offered a different version of events while being questioned in custody.
"He recognises he made a statement that did not conform with the truth," his lawyer Laurent-Franck Liénard told AFP on Friday.
The policeman has told investigators from the IGPN police oversight body that "it was an accidental shot" that killed the man, identified as Aboubakar, who was under surveillance for suspected drug trafficking.
The young man died from a single bullet wound to the neck after police stopped him in his car in the Breil neighbourhood of Nantes, which is home to a large public housing estate with a history of gang violence.
Police said that Aboubakar had resisted arrest and tried to reverse his car into an officer.
A witness who spoke to AFP believed the car was stationary when the policeman opened fire.