Gunmen Open Fire on Wedding in France, 1 Dead, 5 Wounded

Three heavily armed men arrived and opened fire on guests

TOPSHOT-FRANCE-CRIME
Police officers are at work on the site of a shooting that occurred overnight during a wedding party in Thionville, eastern France, on June 30, 2024. JEAN-CHRISTOPHE VERHAEGEN/AFP via Getty Images

One person is dead and five others hurt after gunmen opened fire on a reception at a French wedding hall.

The gunmen stormed the venue in Thionville, a city in northeastern France on late Saturday as approximately a hundred guests were in attendance of a Turkish wedding party.

Two people were seriously injured and one of them was in critical condition, according to AFP. A pregnant woman was among the wounded.

"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," a police source told the media outlet.

The suspects arrived in a 4x4 vehicle, "probably a BMW," they added.

Sources have suggested that the attack could potentially be linked to settling a score between drug traffickers

Authorities allegedly believe that a settling of scores connected to drug trafficking could be a possible motive behind the violence.

"The wedding was not targeted as such, it was people who were at the wedding."

In a statement to the BBC, prosecutor Francois Capin-Dulhoste said the men had fired "several dozen times", adding four people had been hit by the bullets. The victims are said to be between 25 and 50 years old.

Tags
France, Wedding, Shooting
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