Blog 8: French Alps Murders

Blog 8

Suzanne Nemchek

French Alps Murders: Cyclist ‘was shot first’

A British family and an innocent bystander were targeted in a shooting in the French Alps that resulted in the death of four and one injured (BBC News).  The bystander, a cyclist named Sylvain Mollier, is believed to have been shot first by the unknown gunman (BBC News).  Saad al-Hilli was shot next, along with his wife and mother-in-law while inside their car (BBC News).  Investigators believe that Hilli was standing outside of the family’s car with his seven year old daughter, Zeinab (BBC News).  When the shooting began, they returned to the car and attempted to escape but the car became trapped in the dirt (BBC News).  Zeinab was shot in the shoulder as well as struck with the gun, but she survived (BBC News).  Zeinab’s four year old sister, Zeena, was uninjured and found by police hiding under the skirts of her mother and grandmother (BBC News).  The identity and motive of the killer are still unknown.

            As popularized by the media as it is, murder is not as serious of an issue as most citizens of industrialized nations believe.  Instead, the intense media coverage simply creates an invalid perception of crime.  Although crime rates have actually decreased since the 1990’s, media coverage of crime has increased.  Therefore, the general population perceives crime to be more serious than it actually is.  Furthermore, the majority of crime dramas, on television or a movie, involve some type of murder.  As a result, most people view murder as a serious threat when, in reality, it’s not that common.  This is not to say that murder is not serious but that it doesn’t pose a threat to society as a whole.

Works Cited

BBC News. “French Alps murders: Cyclist ‘was shot first’”. 2012. BBC.  Retrieved October 20, 2012. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20009542