A settlement of accounts in the middle of the day. This Wednesday afternoon, several shots were heard boulevard de Courcelles, in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. Affected, a 31-year-old man, Ruben A., succumbed to his injuries despite being taken care of on the spot by the emergency services. According to a police source, the perpetrators of the shots then fled.
It is around 3 p.m. this Wednesday when several individuals, on two powerful two-wheelers, including a blue Yamaha scooter, are driving on Boulevard de Courcelles. According to our information, at least one shooter first entered the real estate agency JAC Immobilier, at 108, boulevard de Courcelles, where the victim had been practicing for ten years. A business run by his father. The wanted 30-something would then have tried to take refuge in a nearby wellness center before being shot at. A witness speaks of at least three shots. Another four shots.
“It looked like a settling of accounts”
“We saw four people pass on two motorcycles, testifies an employee of a restaurant nearby. We heard several gunshots, it sounded like a settling of scores. The whole neighborhood is cordoned off, a lot of police and the Samu are on the spot. It only lasted 40 seconds. Bullets were found on the ground. »
“I heard explosions, I thought they were backfires from a moped engine, because next door there is a repairman, relates another trader in the afternoon. Later, I realized it was gunshots. Passers-by took refuge in the surrounding businesses when they heard the shots. »
The attackers fled on their two-wheelers. The area is cordoned off by the police. Ruben A., father of a young girl, is taken care of on the spot by the emergency services. But he eventually succumbed to his injuries. His family quickly joined the scene of the tragedy, his wife in tears.
The two vehicles of the alleged shooters were found a few moments later in Châtenay-Malabry (Hauts-de-Seine), sprayed with fire extinguishers, indicates a police source. The individuals then allegedly continued their escape in a car waiting for them there.
“It’s the Wild West”
A few hours after the tragedy, Jean-Marc, a resident of rue des Renaudes, not far from the crime scene, still cannot believe his eyes: “It’s terrible what happened. I live just nextdoor. In twenty years here, that has never happened. I lived a long time in Mexico but I have never seen such violence. I went down when the police arrived, I saw the mother of the victim in tears in front of the crime scene. She was screaming My son, my son! I can’t imagine how she feels, it’s awful. »
“It’s the Wild West”, loose Jeanne d’Hauteserre, the mayor (LR) of the 8th arrondissement who deplores “that the settling of accounts is done in broad daylight”. “It is still a very busy artery,” remarks the elected official. Its counterpart in the 17th century, the neighboring district, is also surprised. “It’s an unusual scene in the neighborhood, I trust the criminal brigade to identify the perpetrators,” said Geoffroy Boulard (LR).
“He had the verb high but was fundamentally nice”
Behind the security perimeter, residents, in shock, attended the rescue operations while relatives gathered around the victim’s family. “It feels like Marseille,” says a couple of retirees among flabbergasted passers-by. “A shootout here? I can’t believe it, it’s a very quiet and commercial artery in normal times, ”says in turn a man, in his fifties, who lives in the building adjoining the massage parlor in front of which the shooting took place. .
Among the crowd, also, acquaintances of Ruben A. “He was a very nice man, who liked to go out in the evening, to book tables in good restaurants, to dance too. He was very generous with his friends, said an acquaintance of the victim. Without being ostentatious, he didn’t have a big car, he was outspoken but was fundamentally nice. »
The victim known to the police
“He was a childhood friend. I have known him for more than fifteen years. We grew up together in the 16th arrondissement, testifies in turn a second relative of the victim who wished to remain anonymous. I was at work when a friend warned me that Ruben had been shot, I came as fast as I could. This is his work district, he still lives in the 16th century. “And to add:” He is a very popular boy, endearing, without stories, he would never have hurt someone. I am dumbfounded. I’ve been asked before if he was in trouble or if anyone could have blamed him, but I don’t see who could have done this to him. »
According to our information, the victim was however known to the police.
