In Arsenal: a family attacked by an armed gang

A violent attack took place on Sunday May 5, 2024, in the afternoon, on Route Royale in Arsenal, Terre-Rouge. A gang of six armed people broke into a family's home, ransacking their house and attacking a man and his sister. Part of the incident was captured by surveillance cameras (CCTV). The images have been submitted to the police and the suspects, four men and two women, have already been identified.

This settling of scores would be linked to an alleged slip-up on the social network TikTok. Reflecting on that fateful day, Shiruven says his wife, Jeshinee, 24, was home alone with their two children when she heard a loud noise around 5:30 p.m. Out of fear, she locked the door to the bathroom where she bathed the children. “They were screaming and banging on the door saying they were looking for my husband. I told them to wait, my husband wasn't there. They were swearing and breaking everything in the living room. We were really scared,” says Jeshinee.

She managed to call her sister-in-law, who rushed to the scene, and also informed Shiruven. When he arrived, he found that the gate to his yard had been damaged and saw the group of people inside his house. “One of the individuals told me that they were looking for me because of a story on TikTok,” he reports. Without waiting, they took him into the kitchen and began to assault him. His sister, who tried to help him, was also attacked. The family owes its salvation to the neighbors who intervened as a group to lend a hand, dissuading the attackers. The latter finally fled, leaving behind a scene of desolation and deep trauma, particularly for Shiruven's two young children.

Shiruven explains that there were two women and four men, four of whom he recognized. Among them was his ex-girlfriend with whom he broke up ten years ago. She was accompanied by her husband, who was the main sponsor of the attack. “I don’t know what slip-up there was on TikTok for this woman to tell her husband to do this. I have never made any attack or slip-up on TikTok and I invite them to go forward with the police if they have evidence against me. We want justice and they have no right to traumatize my family like this,” says Shiruven.

The latter and his sister filled out a form 58 before going to SSRN hospital where they received medical treatment. At the Terre-Rouge police level, the investigation is ongoing and arrests are expected soon in this case.

Shiruven, a 28-year-old mason, married and father of two young children, filed a complaint on Tuesday June 4, 2024 with the Independent Police Complaint Commission (IPCC) to denounce the inaction of the Terre-Rouge police in this affair. “This is a very serious matter. We filed a complaint for 'property damage, assault and gang theft', with supporting evidence. Despite this, we continue to receive threats from this gang. We have given the names and addresses of the individuals involved, but no action has been taken so far. We do not agree with the manner in which the investigation is proceeding and we have informed the IPCC that a police officer from Terre-Rouge is a family member of the suspects,” says Shiruven.