21 Mar 2018

New Caledonian man who shot at a minor jailed

10:02 am on 21 March 2018

A 57-year-old man in New Caledonia has been jailed for a year for shooting and injuring a minor in a stolen car in Nakety last month.

French police officers stand guard on a road in Mont-Dore, a suburb of Noumea, in New Caledonia, on May 28, 2014, while a tow lifts the wreckage of a burned car. Angry residents from the Saint Louis tribal group burned cars creating roadblocks on May 24, 2014

Photo: AFP

The criminal court in Noumea has given him a five-year sentence but left four years suspended.

The man had fired his rifle several times after being annoyed by the commotion caused by two stolen cars, hitting one of them.

He hit a vehicle occupant who is reportedly still in hospital, unable to walk.

The shooting incident occurred during a week of community protest at lawlessness when schools and public services in had closed.