Handgun discharges kills teenage soldier.....

A French soldier has died after being shot in the head during what authorities described as a game involving a firearm at a party west of Paris, prosecutors and military officials said.

Brigadier Alexandre Lanckbeen, 20, was critically injured last Saturday while attending a gathering involving alcohol at the Percy Military Teaching Hospital in Clamart.

According to prosecutors, a loaded handgun was discharged during what was described as a game between four soldiers housed at the hospital. A bullet struck Lanckbeen in the head.

The game, known within the military, involves attempting to disarm a colleague and disable their weapon. The firearm is usually unloaded when the game is played, but in this case it was not, local media reported.

Lanckbeen died on Friday from his injuries.

Loïc Mizon, military governor of Paris, said he had learned of the soldier’s death with “deep sadness”.

“I wish to express my deepest compassion to his family and loved ones and assure them of the full support of the armed forces,” he said in a post on X.

Lanckbeen served with the 35th Parachute Artillery Regiment based in Tarbes and had been deployed as part of Operation Sentinelle, France’s long-running domestic security operation.

Three soldiers, 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 breaching orders by consuming alcohol. The other two were charged with involuntary bodily harm resulting in work incapacity exceeding three months through a deliberate violation of safety obligations, as well as altering a crime scene to obstruct justice.

Following Lanckbeen’s death, the charges are expected to be reclassified.

The investigation has been assigned to the criminal investigation service in Hauts-de-Seine, prosecutors said.