A masked gang killed one and wounded five after attacking a wedding ceremony in France.
Sources suggested that the attack in the northeastern city of Thionville was linked to a settling of scores between drug traffickers.
The shooting took place at the reception hall of Eden Palace overnight from Saturday, June 29, to Sunday, June 30, with around a hundred people – reportedly members of the local Turkish community – in attendance.
A man in his 30s was killed and three other people were seriously injured in the attack around 1am. Two of them are said to be in life-threatening condition.
A pregnant woman also suffered minor injuries and was reported to be in shock, while a man was injured by shards of glass.
The victims are between 25 and 50 years old.
The perpetrators of the shooting, three men reportedly wearing face coverings and black hoodies, had fled the scene by the time police arrived.
They have not yet been identified and are understood to still be on the run.
“It was during a wedding,” a police source said.
“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 arrived and opened fire in their direction.”
Three of the victims were reportedly stood outside the venue and two in the entrance hall when the gunmen opened fire, shooting more than 15 rounds at the wedding guests, according to local media.
Witnesses told local media that the perpetrators used two Kalashnikovs and one shotgun for the attack.
“Several dozen rounds of ammunition were fired. Four people were hit by bullets,” prosecutor Nancy Francois Capin-Dulhoste said in a statement.
“Currently, one has died, three others are in a state of absolute emergency. Two other people also suffered minor injuries, in particularly due to shards of glass.”
The assailants arrived in a 4X4 vehicle, “probably a BMW,” the source said.
Members of law enforcement believe that a settling of scores linked to drug trafficking was behind the violence.
The deceased and the three injured men are known to the authorities for drug cases, according to Le Parisien.
Investigators are trying to understand how the criminals knew that their targets would be away from the other guests when they launched their attack.
“The wedding was not targeted as such, it was people who were at the wedding,” a source said.
“At this stage, the motives for the shooting remain unknown,” the prosecutor said.
It is understood that the venue has CCTV and that the attack was captured by cameras.
A glass door pierced with at least five bullet holes could be seen at the scene on Sunday morning, which is likely how some of the victims were injured by glass shards.
Thionville is located close to the borders of Luxembourg and Germany and the border area of the city is a well-known target area for drug trafficking.
