France : Deadly Ambush Coco Chat Trap
Fatal Trap on a Dating Site
Philippe C., a 22-year-old man, tragically lost his life in Grande-Synthe, near Dunkirk in northern France, following a trap set through the free chat site Coco. Believing he was meeting a young woman, he was violently attacked in a supermarket parking lot. “The victim was trapped by teenagers on the Coco site,” reported Le Parisien on Thursday, April 18. The incident, which occurred between Monday night and Tuesday, is described as a deadly ambush organized via Coco.gg, a site known for its involvement in other similar cases. Two teenagers, aged 14 and 15, have been arrested and detained by the Dunkirk public prosecutor’s office, which continues its investigation to identify other possible accomplices.
Journalists add that on the chat, “they lured the victim by posing as a young girl interested in a romantic encounter.” This modus operandi is not new and is often used to set up ambushes against the homosexual community, according to data from SOS homophobia. Despite multiple alerts, the Coco site continues to operate by frequently changing its domain name, such as coco.fr and coco.gg.
Additional Violence in the Same Neighborhood
According to information relayed by La Voix du Nord, another assault occurred the previous Saturday in the same area. The victim, a 39-year-old man, was lured via a dating site and greeted by several people armed with baseball bats and a hatchet. This man managed to escape the attackers and alert the police.
For Philippe C., fate was less kind. A witness indicated that he had been attacked by three individuals who stole his mobile phone before escaping. Seriously injured, he was admitted to intensive care and “died Tuesday evening from his injuries,” according to the prosecutor. The victim’s brother testified to Agence France-Presse (AFP), speaking of the “barbarity” of the attack. The mayor of Grande-Synthe, Martial Beyaert (Socialist Party), urged on Facebook to resist “fear and the spirit of vengeance” following the circulation of photos suspected to be those of the attackers on social media. A white march is being organized on Friday in tribute to Philippe, who was involved in local social centers.
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