France Violence: Mother of teen killed by police says she blames only one person for his son's death

The incident triggered violent protests in France.

The boy, Nahel, was shot dead during a traffic stop Tuesday morning in the Paris suburb of Nanterre. Footage of the incident filmed by a bystander showed two officers standing on the driver’s side of the car, one of whom fired his gun at the driver despite not appearing to be in any immediate danger, reports CNN.

The officer reportedly said he fired the gun out of fear that the boy would run over someone with the car.

“I don’t blame the police, I blame one person, the one who took my son’s life,” Nahel’s mother, Mounia, told television station France 5 in an on-camera interview as quoted by CNN.

More than 660 people have been detained in France overnight as a result of violent protests, which erupted after police shot dead a 17-year-old teenager during a traffic stop, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Friday as quoted by Xinhua/UNI.

Previous reports indicated that over 400 people were detained during the protests.

"Last night, our police, gendarmes and firefighters bravely faced rare violence. Following my instructions to take decisive action, 667 arrests were made," the minister wrote on Twitter.