The bullet holes on the facade of the neighborhood town hall bear witness to the violence of the shooting which took place Saturday evening on the Kennedy slab in Villejean. In the early evening around 7:30 p.m. two individuals, their faces hidden, arrived by car in the neighborhood. Upon arriving at the slab, several shots were fired. Traces of projectiles are found in the window of a tobacconist as well as on the windows of the town hall annex. “We found 24 automatic weapon casings on site,” explains Frédéric Gallet Frédéric Gallet, departmental secretary of the Alliance 35 police union.
Hit in the chest and one leg
In the shooting, a 53-year-old man, who had lived in the neighborhood for several years according to local residents, was seriously injured, shot in the chest and one leg. The victim, who was able to take refuge in a Carrefour store a few meters away, was finally taken care of by the firefighters and a Samu team dispatched to the scene. Another man, aged 38, suffered a very slight injury to his calf after being grazed by a bullet. Transported to CHR Pontchaillou, the fifty-year-old, whose vital prognosis was not in jeopardy, underwent surgery during the evening. “Neither of these two men has the profile of people generally close to drug trafficking” underlines the trade unionist.
“It’s becoming recurring”
On Sunday, January 5, a week ago, in the middle of the afternoon, during another shooting, in the same place, which caused no victims, the police found 11 9 mm shell casings coming from a weapon automatic. Violence which follows one another and which worries the residents met on site this Sunday. “I heard a very rapid burst from my house. At first I thought it was the sound of firecrackers but it was louder. I’ve lived here for 10 years but now it’s becoming recurring. It’s changed a lot. We don’t feel safe. So I avoid coming on the slab now. I come from time to time to run errands and not at any time. I no longer get off at the metro stop here, I stop at the station before. We don’t understand how they can be comfortable doing this when there is a police station nearby. » explains Amanda*. Same opinion for Lou*: “I try not to hang around here, especially in the evening. All these gunshots are scary. Especially since there are a lot of people to pass here with the shops and there is also a play area for children. It could affect anyone.” For the union leader “We cannot just count the dead and injured. We can’t be everywhere. We do it with the means we have. We are requesting the classification of Rennes in a difficult sector for an abundance of staff and also a penal response in line with the situation. There needs to be a security shock, with awareness on the part of those responsible at the level of the municipality, the police and the justice system.”
Presence of the mayor of Rennes
Following these events, during the afternoon the mayor of Rennes visited the Kennedy slab. “For almost three weeks, the Villejean district has been facing a turf war between drug traffickers. The violence has escalated in recent days,” she declared. The councilor, who spoke during the day with the Minister of the Interior and the Prefect, notably specified “Significant police reinforcements are currently deployed in the neighborhood, and we have guarantees for the coming days. The top priority is to strengthen the presence of Internal Security Forces on the ground, to stop the action of these criminals and protect the population. We have also set up a Listening and Support Unit, which will be deployed this week to accompany and support residents and professionals in the neighborhood.”
The investigation into this case was entrusted to the DCOS Organized and Specialized Crime Division.
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