A thwarted home invasion near Montpellier adds to France’s surge in violent “wrench attacks,” as high‑profile and doxxed crypto holders are increasingly in criminals’ sights.
A man posing as a delivery driver allegedly tried to extort a crypto investor at gunpoint in a suburb of Montpellier, in what local media describe as the first reported crypto-motivated home invasion in France’s Hérault region.
According to French outlet Actu.fr, the suspect gained access to the family home in Saint-Jean-de-Védas on April 11, pulled out a handgun and forced the parents and their children into a room before the father overpowered him during a struggle in which a shot was fired.
No one was injured, and investigators from the Montpellier research section of the Gendarmerie later identified and arrested a 25-year-old suspect, who has since been charged and remanded in custody while police examine whether he acted alone.
