A man suspected of being the perpetrator of the fatal shooting which killed Nicolas, a young Rugby player, during a shooting on the night of Thursday to Friday in front of a nightclub in Saint-Péray, in Ardèche, was arrested this Monday in Marseilles. According to BFMTV, he was arrested at a deal point in the 15th arrondissement of Marseille. He had been on the run since the tragedy that occurred during the night from Thursday to Friday. The Privas prosecutor’s office indicated that it did not wish to communicate at this stage.
A second person was also arrested at his home this Monday evening in Cavaillon, in Vaucluse, by 10 police officers from the Valence organized and specialized crime division (DCOS), reports BFMTV.
Around 2:55 a.m. Friday, a hooded individual dressed in black fired several shots in the direction of the queue of a nightclub in Saint-Péray, Le Seven, where nearly 800 people, many of them also dressed in black, were participating in a Halloween party, reports the press release. Nicolas, aged 22, injured in the head, was transported in absolute emergency to the Valence hospital center, with a life-threatening condition, before dying from his injuries on Saturday.
A customer and a security guard at the establishment, also in the queue, were slightly injured in the legs.
Four or five shots
According to a security guard’s account to investigators, the perpetrator of the shooting arrived on foot, “walking calmly with his hands in his pockets, before taking out a handgun, apparently of a small model” and firing a first shot. times about forty meters from the queue.
Several witnesses speak of four or five shots in total. A projectile resembling 9 mm caliber was found inside a Golf vehicle parked in the nightclub parking lot, after breaking the car window, according to the press release.
A white walk
Furthermore, a white march in tribute to Nicolas will take place on Wednesday afternoon, announced the victim’s rugby club. Organized in Romans-sur-Isère by the Rugby Club Romans-Péage (RCRP), the march will leave from Place Paulin Pailherey at 3 p.m. to reach the Donnadieu stadium. It is also within the RCRP, and in this same stadium, that the young Thomas played, killed during a ball in Crépol (Drôme) in November 2023.
The Romans-Péage Rugby Club paid tribute to Nicolas on its Facebook page, saying it was “devastated again” by this death “in atrocious circumstances”. “#Nicolas is no more”, reacted the mayor of Romans-sur-Isère Marie-Hélène Thoraval on “, she lamented.
