Gunmen Attack Wedding In France, Leaving 1 Dead And 5 Injured

A masked group attacked a wedding ceremony in France, killing one and wounding five.

According to sources, the incident in the northeastern city of Thionville was the result of a drug trafficking dispute.

The shooting took occurred overnight from Saturday, June 29, to Sunday, June 30, in Eden Palace’s reception hall, with perhaps a hundred people in attendance, according to reports from the local Turkish community.

A man in his thirties was killed and three others were critically injured in the incident at 1 a.m. Two of them are reportedly in critical condition.

A pregnant woman sustained minor injuries and was believed to be in shock, while a male was hurt by glass shards.

The victims are from 25 to 50 years old.

The shooters, three males wearing face covers and black hoodies, had departed the scene by the time police arrived.

They have not yet been recognised and are believed to 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.”

According to local media, the gunmen opened fire, firing more than fifteen rounds at the wedding guests, striking three victims who were reportedly standing outside the venue and two in the entrance hall.

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, and 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.

The dead and the three injured men are known to the authorities for drug cases, according to Le Parisien.

Law enforcement officials believe that a drug-related score-settling was the reason for the violence.

Investigators are attempting to determine 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 filmed by cameras.

A glass door penetrated with at least five bullet holes could be seen at the scene on Sunday morning, which is presumably how some of the victims were hurt by glass shards.

Thionville is located near to the frontiers of Luxembourg and Germany and the border area of the city is a well-known target location for drug trafficking.

A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.

Nnamdi Okoli