A Sudanese migrant knifed to death a receptionist of a shelter in the small northern French town of Nogent-sur-Oise and subsequently set fire to the place, television station Franceinfo reports.
Afterwards, the man went to the local police station and gave himself up for voluntary manslaughter.
The receptionist of the local Adoma aid organization, which focuses much of its activities on helping migrants, was found dead in his workplace on Monday Dec. 6 around 9:30 p.m. after being stabbed to death. Police responded to the scene due to an arson at the migrant center, police told Franceinfo. Aged about 40, the receptionist seems to have been butchered, says the state prosecutor of Senlis, the regional center to which Nogent-sur-Oise belongs.
The main suspect has been placed in custody after voluntarily presenting himself to the municipal police of Nogent-sur-Oise for voluntary homicide and having set fire to parts of the building in question. According to the prosecutor, he appears to have had a dispute with the victim.
Aged about 30, the suspect “does not have a judicial history with the exception of a minor transport violation,” the prosecutor said. His confession did not reveal any motivation that could indicate radicalization. At the time of his apprehension, he reported being suicidal. According to a police source, he will be subjected to a psychological examination to try to understand the motive of his action.
The victim, who joined the aid organization in 2002, “was particularly appreciated by his residents and his collaborators,” Adoma wrote in a statement.
“He practiced his function with the greatest professionalism and was deeply engaged in his social mission, which was to assist the poorest and enable them to fit into society,”
Twenty residents, whose dwellings were destroyed by the fire, will be relocated.
Employees working at migrant center have often been targeted by the people they are aiding. Just in October of this year, an employee was murdered at a different migrant center in France and another arrested for death threats. In February, the director of a migrant center was murdered by a migrant in France.
The head of a pro-refugee aid organization in France was beaten to death with an iron rod in his sleep in 2020 by an Afghan migrant.
The head of a migrant center in Italy was raped by a Nigerian migrant in 2020, with the woman recounting her experience to an Italian newspaper.
