Several hundred people were involved in a brawl in Poitiers (Vienna), which occurred following a shooting in a restaurant on Thursday, October 31 in the evening, Le Parisien learned from police sources.
Five people were injured, including a 15-year-old boy. The latter, hit in the head by a bullet, is in serious danger, according to our information.
What happened?
Around 10:45 p.m., this Thursday evening, gunshots were reported at Place Coimbra, near the “L'Othentik” kebab shop, in the Couronneries district of Poitiers, an area known for drug trafficking, a police source said. Parisian. According to the first elements of the investigation, the shots were carried out “in the direction of the terrace of a restaurant” by three individuals traveling in a vehicle. Twelve 22 caliber shell casings were found on the ground, according to our information.
When they arrived on site, the police discovered five people injured by gunshots, one of them very seriously. The individual, lying on the ground, had “a gunshot wound to the head”. He was taken care of by emergency services and transported to Poitiers University Hospital.
A few minutes later, a first brawl broke out “between rival gangs”, involving several hundred people, according to our information. Invited this Thursday morning on BFMTV/RMC, Bruno Retailleau, the Minister of the Interior, spoke of 400 and 600 people, equipped with “all kinds of weapons”. Information “in the process of being consolidated”, according to Beauvau.
According to our information, upon their arrival, the police, accompanied by the prefect of Vienne, were “attacked” by “80 to 100 individuals”. They used grenades to disperse the crowd. A final “punitive expedition”, involving “50 to 60 people”, took place during the evening. Between “50 and 100 additional police officers” were dispatched to the scene to restore calm, which returned around 2:30 a.m.
At the same time, the police were also informed that an individual was kidnapped on rue de Slovenie and taken to rue de Montbernage. Dispatched to the scene, the police discovered around ten individuals surrounding a man. The latter was taken to the police station to be interviewed. At this stage, the link to the earlier shooting and brawl has not been established.
What condition is the victim in?
Five people were injured in the shooting, including a 15-year-old boy very seriously. Taken care of by emergency services, he was transported in absolute emergency to Poitiers University Hospital. Hit in the head, his vital prognosis is in jeopardy. According to our information, the family was warned by hospital doctors that the teenager was in a state of “brain death”.
The four other injured people, three 16-year-old teenagers and another 15-year-old, are in relative emergency. They were hit by shots in the shoulder, head, ankle and feet, said a police source.
What are the first elements of the investigation?
According to the first elements of the investigation, the shooting which occurred on the terrace of the restaurant would be “linked to drug trafficking”. Twelve bullet holes were noted on the facade of the establishment in addition to the twelve 22 caliber shell casings found on the ground, according to our information.
The brawl, which followed a few minutes later, involving several hundred individuals, would have broken out “against a backdrop of tensions between the North African and Guadeloupean communities”, adds this police source. According to our information, a long gun and a handgun were discovered in an apartment in the area. At this stage, no information has been given on possible arrests.
What are the first reactions?
In a message posted on
A few hours after the events, Léonore Moncond'huy, the mayor of Poitiers, spoke in a press release: “This is a new episode of unacceptable violence for the neighborhood and for the city. The youth of the victims and those involved is particularly striking and worrying. I wish a speedy recovery to the injured and I call on everyone's responsibility to maintain peace in the city,” she wrote, welcoming the intervention of the police.
Questioned on BFMTV/RMC this Thursday morning, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau reiterated his desire to fight drug trafficking. “We are at a tipping point,” he said, referring to a possible “Mexicanization of the country.”
“Narcoscum are everywhere. We will have to fight them with implacable determination,” he warned. Who are they? “These are individuals, traffickers who use the most ferocious, most violent means to settle scores and to satisfy their greed,” he explains. “The choice we have today is that of a general mobilization or the Mexicanization of the country.”
