Weird & Viral news and discussion on TalkFuse.
Funeral held for Pengo Bossio Wangi, victim of racist attack in Paris suburb: ‘My son is not a skin color, my son is a human being’
Hundreds of relatives and members of the public attended the funeral of Pengo Bossio Wangi in Guyancourt on 7 November, two weeks after he was killed in a shooting described as racist. His mother, Valérie, said her son was a human being, not a skin colour, and rejected the idea that racist violence should be accepted as inevitable.
The 26-year-old was killed in Trappes on 23 October, when a gunman targeted people of African or North African background in Trappes and nearby La Verrière. Five other passers-by were injured, including an 11-year-old girl. The ceremony was open to the public but excluded journalists and politicians; attendees expressed solidarity, fear and anger, and some linked the attack to a worsening climate around racism.
In short
- Hundreds gathered to remember Pengo Bossio Wangi.
- His mother rejected racism and fatalism.
- Five others were injured in the attack.
Explained simply
Trappes and nearby La Verrière are towns in the Yvelines department, west of Paris. Pengo Bossio Wangi was 26 when he was killed there; five other people were injured, including an 11-year-old girl.
The shooting was described as racist because people of African or North African background were targeted. Racist violence refers to attacks motivated by hostility towards a person’s perceived ethnic or racial background.
Wangi’s family and local residents gathered in Guyancourt for his funeral. The case has drawn attention to the safety of people targeted because of their background and to concerns about racism in France.