Alexandre Lanckbeen, a 20-year-old brigadier, was critically injured last Saturday during an incident at the Percy Military Teaching Hospital, in Clamart, west of Paris. He died from his injuries on Friday.
French prosecutors said a loaded handgun was discharged during a game between soldiers, striking Lanckbeen in the head. The activity, known within the military, reportedly involves attempting to disarm a colleague and neutralise their weapon. The firearm is usually unloaded, but was not in this case, according to media reports.
According to prosecutors, four soldiers accommodated at the hospital began playing the game on Saturday evening. During the interaction, a shot was fired, fatally wounding Lanckbeen.
Three soldiers, all also deployed under Operation Sentinelle, appeared before a Paris court on Tuesday in connection with the shooting, local media reported. One was charged with violence with a weapon resulting in permanent disability and with breaching orders by consuming alcohol. The other two were charged with involuntary bodily harm causing a work incapacity of more than three months, through a deliberate violation of safety regulations.
All three were also charged with altering the scene of a crime in order to obstruct the course of justice. Following Lanckbeen’s death, the charges are expected to be reclassified.
