France’s ‘HR killer’ arrested and charged with two murders

File image of French police officers 

Credit: AFP/AFP

A French man suspected of shooting and killing several human resources workers has been charged with murder and jailed, a public prosecutor in the southeastern city of Valence said on Saturday.

Gabriel Fortin "was brought before an investigating judge and charged with murder," prosecutor Alex Perrin told AFP, adding that the suspect had been jailed and had refused to talk to investigators in the two days he had been in custody.

The charges were brought after two women, one human resources director and a job centre employee, were shot dead in their offices on Thursday. "Premeditation on these two cases is absolutely proven," Mt Perrin added.

Investigators are working to confirm possible links between Mr Fortin and two other attacks 500km north on Tuesday in which one human resources employee was shot dead in her parked car and another survived an attack in his home.

His DNA was found on the scene of the car park shooting, and the survivor later identified him as his attacker, a judicial source told AFP.

All of the suspected victims of Mr Fortin, a 45-year-old unemployed engineer from Nancy who has been dubbed the "HR killer" by French media, worked in similar jobs and were linked to former positions he had held or his search for employment.

On Thursday morning, it is alleged that he walked into a job centre in Valence he had been registered with until 2013 and shot employment advisor Patricia Pasquion. He then drove to his former employer’s office and fatally shot Géraldine Calcin, the human resources director, before escaping.

He was arrested after a job centre employee gave his number plate to the police and officers drove into his vehicle to stop him.

Investigations are expected to continue with autopsies of the victims and forensic analyses of the bullets to link the attacks.