Police in France have opened a murder investigation after a waiter was shot and killed by a customer.
The incident happened Friday around 9:15 p.m. at a pizza and sandwich restaurant in the Paris suburb of Noisy-Le-Grand. Witnesses told local media the suspect had been waiting for several minutes for a sandwich before he became angry over the wait.
The man allegedly insulted the 28-year-old waiter before he pulled out a 9-millimeter handgun and shot the employee in the shoulder. Paramedics arrived quickly but were not able to revive the dead waiter.
The suspect has not been identified and was still on the loose as of Sunday. Seine-Saint-Denis, the county-equivalent “department” that Noisy-Le-Grand is located in experiences above average levels of crime compared to other places in France.
Some on Twitter expressed anger over the shooting, with Jean Messiha, a top member of National Rally, tying the slaying to “mass immigration.” National Rally is a right-wing nationalist political party led by Marine Le Pen.
Noisy-Le-Grand mayor Sylvain Thézard pushed back on that notion, noting that crime rates had fallen in his city.
“We are shocked by the comments on social networks that make a lot of confusion,” Thézard said. “Crime rates are declining in our city. This murder is by no means the result of a deeper problem. It’s nothing but sad news.”
