A 15-year-old boy was shot and killed Thursday evening in the Port-Boyer district of Nantes. Two other minors, aged 13 and 14, were wounded in the same shooting. The shooting began around 19:30 p.m. in an area already known as a particularly contested drug dealing spot. The most seriously wounded boy is no longer in danger, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, who was present at the scene, indicated on Friday.
Automatic gunfire
Two hooded individuals opened fire with an automatic weapon on a group of three teenagers. Laurent Nuñez reported that shots were fired "somewhat blindly"in a context most likely linked to drug trafficking. The minister, however, emphasized one point: this lead does not mean that the targeted teenagers were themselves involved in trafficking.
An area already plagued by violence
The Port-Boyer neighborhood had already been affected by other incidents of violence in recent weeks. At the end of April, a young man was killed and another seriously wounded by gunfire in the same area, in incidents already being investigated for possible links to drug trafficking. A few days before Thursday's shooting, the neighborhood had also experienced another shooting.
Laurent Nuñez promises to continue the fight
On site this Friday, Laurent Nuñez promised to continue a "unrelenting struggle" against drug trafficking. The Minister of the Interior affirmed that the State does not "will not lose this war" and advocated for a strengthened police and judicial response. He specifically mentioned the continuation of investigations and the dismantling of drug trafficking networks, in a national context marked by several recent settling of scores.
Nice, Décines, Nantes: a deadly series of events
The tragedy in Nantes follows a series of violent incidents linked or potentially linked to drug trafficking. In Nice, two people were killed and six others injured on Monday, May 11, in the Moulins district, during a gun attack targeting a known drug trafficking area. In Décines-Charpieu, near Lyon, three people died the same day in an arson attack, amid an investigation into a possible settling of scores between drug traffickers.
