Paris,May 12, (dpa/GNA) – Two people were killed and six others were injured, some seriously, in a shooting in the southern French coastal city of Nice, local authorities said on Monday.
The driver of an electric scooter, stopped in front of a grocery store and opened fire with a pistol near a drug hotspot in the city, the public prosecutor said. Seventeen shell casings were recovered at the scene. The shooter initially drove away and fled in a car parked nearby.
According to authorities, the shooting is directly linked to drug trafficking. The Les Moulins district is frequently the scene of violent crimes and is considered a problematic area.
The new mayor of Nice, Éric Ciotti, said on social media platform X that three of the six injured were in serious condition, adding that three people were also “in shock.”
Ciotti called on the French government to provide the resources needed to address the situation in the Les Moulins district, criticizing the staffing levels that the city has sorely lacked for years. He spoke of a “war” against drug trafficking.
An investigation has been launched, authorities said, including into suspected premeditated murder by an organized gang. Three of the injured had prior convictions related to drug trafficking, prosecutors stated. Neither of the deceased had a criminal record.
GNA