A peaceful district of Nantes disturbed by a strange series of gunshots

Le Figaro Nantes

“Beware of children”, states the sign at the entrance to the private road. The warning is intended for motorists. It could also give food for thought to the perpetrators of the gunshots which have disturbed, in recent weeks, the family and residential serenity of Saint-Joseph-de-Porterie, in the north of Nantes. On April 30, in the early evening, several detonations frightened the residents of Avenue de l’Archipel, a pretty alley serving three residential blocks. When the police arrived, they did not notice any suspicious activity. Calm had returned as quickly as it had dissipated and only a few shell casings, scattered on the ground, proved that bullets had just been fired a few minutes earlier.

Investigators subsequently called to the scene of the shooting noted traces of 8 gunshots. The shell casings collected belong to 9 mm caliber bullets – the most common ammunition for handguns. According to our colleagues at West France , witnesses interviewed by the police would have even seen the affair. The scene could be mistaken for a settling of scores – or a somewhat muscular attempt at intimidation -, with a car spewing bullets and a frightened passerby, who flees, escaping the rain of lead. The victim’s condition is not known. The public highway officers responsible for the initial findings did not discover any traces of blood in the area, and the individual did not go to the police to file a complaint.

Already seen

At the Nantes central police station, the story was immediately compared with a previous shooting, which had recently taken place on the same private avenue. Three weeks earlier, a first series of gunshots had, it is true, already broken the tranquility of this district bounded to the west by the course of the Erdre, to the south by the Beaujoire stadium and, to the is, by the Nantes remand center. Déjà vu effect: same police discoveries, same testimonies and same disappearances: a few shell casings, a vanished victim, and the story of a possible ambush.

This double outbreak of fire in this peaceful neighborhood, only a few days apart, intrigues the police. “This area is very quiet, despite the proximity of the remand center. Apart from a few small drug cases, he was not aware of any cases involving the use of firearms. indicates a police Source. For the moment, however, there is no link to connect the two cases – other than their remarkable similarity. Requested by Le Figarothe Nantes public prosecutor’s office did not wish to communicate about the investigation.