Shooting in Poitiers: a brawl breaks out between dozens of people, five seriously injured including a 15-year-old minor between life and death

A shooting broke out in Poitiers (Vienne) in the Couronneries district, in front of a kebab shop, Thursday evening at 10:45 p.m. The report shows five people seriously injured, including a 15-year-old minor, between life and death after being shot in the head. Two other teenagers, aged 16, were also injured, one in a shoulder, the other in an ankle. The two other affected victims presented themselves directly to the hospital.

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Dozens of people involved

Between 400 and 600 people witnessed or participated in the shooting, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said on BFMTV and RMC. “It started with a shooting at a restaurant and ended with a brawl between rival gangs which involved several hundred people. I am told of 4 to 600 people, according to the prefect's report”, detailed Bruno Retailleau, who linked these shootings to drug trafficking. It would actually be several dozen people, indicate our colleagues from The New Republic. 50 to 60 people involved in scuffles, indicates a police source.

Shooting in Poitiers: “Between 400 and 600 people involved”, declares Minister of the Interior Bruno Retailleau pic.twitter.com/8kmoNMkUaW

— BFMTV (@BFMTV) https://twitter.com/BFMTV/status/1852255550467137955?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

The shooting broke out at Place Coimbra in Poitiers, which is known to be a drug trafficking location. The shots were fired by individuals who fled by car, indicates BFMTV. The police used three tear gas canisters to disperse the crowd.

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For Bruno Retailleau, “narco-scum no longer have limits”. The Minister of the Interior believes that “these are individuals who use the most ferocious, most violent means to settle scores and satisfy their greed. […] It's not happening in South America but in Rennes, in Poitiers, in this Western France that I know well and which was once renowned for its tranquility.”

? “Narcocrackers no longer have limits”

➡ Bruno Retailleau, Minister of the Interior pic.twitter.com/FDP61am7FH

— BFMTV (@BFMTV) https://twitter.com/BFMTV/status/1852255706688164345?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Police reinforcements during the day

The police and the gendarmerie went to the scene during the night. The prefect of Vienne also made the trip. Police reinforcements will be sent to the Couronneries district during the day.

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“Tensions between different groups have erupted”, indicates the Vienne prefecture, without further details, “requiring the intervention of the police and the gendarmerie”.

This Friday morning, no trace of the gunshots was visible in the neighborhood, calm on this public holiday, specifies France Bleu Poitou.

The mayor of Poitiers Léonore Moncond'huy indicates in a press release that “this new episode of violence is unacceptable for the neighborhood, and for the city […] I call on everyone's responsibility to maintain peace in the city.”

In its security report for the year 2023, presented last February, the Vienne prefecture had classified the fight against drug trafficking as a priority. 519 raids resulted in the arrest of 530 dealers and the seizure of 174.6 kg of drugs. Poitiers, prefecture city of Vienne, known for its famous Futuroscope, has around 90,000 inhabitants.