It was a little after 2 p.m. Sunday when the detonations rang out on the Kennedy slab. This large pedestrian square in Rennes located in the heart of the popular Villejean district is often very busy, particularly by metro users. Fortunately, on this last day of school holidays, there were no crowds on the slab. Blame it on particularly foul weather. A gloomy weather which did not prevent one or more individuals from taking out weapons. For a few seconds, the shots made all the residents of the Villejean district tremble. “A dozen shell casings were found,” said Rennes public prosecutor Frédéric Teillet, confirming information from West France.
The Organized and Specialized Crime Division (DCOS, the new judicial police) and the Territorial Crime Division (DCT) were responsible for the investigation. “It is very likely violence for control of a deal point,” says the prosecutor. Although the shooting did not cause any injuries, it reminded the residents of Villejean that their neighborhood remained plagued by drug trafficking.
A bullet found in the sofa
According to a police source, bullets were found in several apartments, including one in a sofa. “Automatic weapon shooting has become a national sport. One day, there will be a tragedy in Rennes. We've been saying it for months but no one does anything. One day we'll have a kid who takes a bullet in a schoolyard. And then, everyone will talk about it,” denounces a bitter police officer.
On October 26, a 5-year-old child was hit by bullets when his father tried to flee the Maurepas neighborhood. He will be disabled for life. The man who shot him was eventually found. Originally from Mayotte and just 16 years old, this young man was undoubtedly trying to mark the territory of his gang. On Sunday, the shots from the Kennedy slab undoubtedly had the same objective. “It’s clearly to show off the muscles. Guys walk around in the middle of the day with a long gun. It was probably a rival gang who wanted to take over the deal point. Pulling out guns is never good for the business of the guys who have the market. It attracts the police, it scares away customers,” said another experienced police officer.
Rennes, soon to be classified as a difficult sector?
These new shootings perpetrated in broad daylight provoked a reaction from the police union Alliance, which shouts to anyone who will listen that Rennes must be classified in a “difficult sector” like Marseille or Lyon but also more recently Nice or Grenoble. “Above all, we are talking about the safety of the people of Rennes! There are more and more people in this city who no longer dare to go out at night. We have a “marseilles” of delinquency but we do not have the means to deal with it. We need more staff,” insists Frédéric Gallet, delegate of the Alliance union.
A field police officer abounds. “When we arrive in certain neighborhoods, there are twice as many of them as us. They laugh in our faces.” Even when they are arrested, these young dealers can sleep peacefully at least until 2026, the date of the first court summons.
