Nicolas was seriously injured during a shooting during the night from Thursday to Friday in Saint-Péray (Ardèche). He died this Saturday, November 2 at the Valence hospital center. Irony of fate: he was a Rugby player in the same club as Thomas, killed by a stab almost a year ago during a ball in Crépol.
Originally from Romans-sur-Isère, Nicolas, 22, was seriously injured by gunshot during the night from Thursday to Friday during a shooting in front of a nightclub in Saint-Péray (Ardèche). As reported by Le Figaro, the young man, shot in the head, died on November 2 from his injuries at Valence hospital, where he was rushed after the shooting which also left two people lightly injured.
According to testimonies relayed by Le Dauphiné Libéré, Nicolas was waiting to enter the nightclub when a hooded gunman targeted him and other young people before fleeing. In the middle of Halloween night, some customers first thought it was a prank, before realizing what was happening.
“We wondered if it was an attack”
“I was at the end of the queue, ready to enter the club, when we heard explosions […] A meter in front of me, someone fell. (…) His friends looked at him and shouted 'He's dead, he's dead'. Right after that everyone got down on the ground and started crawling inside the box. […] We wondered if it was an attack” relates Raphaël, 19, to Dauphiné Libéré. On France Bleu, a young Ardéchois affirmed that he would no longer go out to nightclubs, shocked: “As soon as there's a fight, as soon as there's alcohol or drugs, people pull out guns, it becomes nonsense“.
Sad irony: Nicolas was a rugby player at the Rugby Club Romans-Péage, where the young Thomas, 16, also played, killed almost a year ago by a stab during a ball in Crépol. The club says “destroyed again“, while Marie-Hélène Thoraval, the mayor of Romans-sur-Isère, the town where Nicolas was from, spoke on X: “An entire city bruised by this new tragedy, the consequence of a barbaric, gratuitous and totally senseless act“.
The shooting is believed to be linked to drug trafficking, according to a police source. The ongoing investigation, which has not yet led to any arrests, will also have to determine whether this death is linked to that of another young man of 18 who was also shot dead in Valencia on Friday.
