One Dead After Armed Gunmen Storm Wedding in France
A man in his 30s has been killed and several others injured in a shooting at a Turkish wedding in north-eastern France, police report.
According to French media, three armed and hooded men stormed the wedding reception in Thionville late Saturday night, opening fire on the guests. Le Figaro newspaper, citing police sources, reports that the attackers arrived at 01:15 am local time to “settle scores between well-known gangs in Moselle.”
Among the wounded is a pregnant woman, with three of the injured in critical condition at the nearby Bel-Air hospital.
Approximately 100 people were attending the celebration at Eden Palace when the gunmen arrived in a 4×4 vehicle, as reported by local media. Thionville is in the Lorraine region, near the borders of Germany and Luxembourg. “At a quarter past one in the morning, a group of people went outside to smoke in front of the hall, and then three heavily-armed men opened fire in their direction,” a police source told AFP. The assailants used automatic weapons and shotguns, firing “several dozen times,” according to prosecutor Nancy Francois Capin-Dulhoste.
The victims, aged between 25 and 50, were hit by the bullets. By the time emergency services arrived, the attackers had already fled the scene.
Le Républicain Lorrain, a local newspaper, reports that police are investigating whether the attackers’ vehicle came from Germany or Luxembourg, roughly 15km (9.3 miles) away. The Lorraine border region has a history of violent incidents related to drug trafficking.
Le Parisien reports that the deceased and the injured were known to authorities for drug-related cases. In May 2023, a nearby town, Villerupt, witnessed a shooting between rival gangs that left five people injured.
