A 27-year-old bride was tragically shot dead on her wedding night when a gunman attacked the party in a horrifying attack in France on Sunday (22 June).
The terrifying incident took place in the quiet village of Goult, near the southeastern French city of Avignon.
According to the AFP news agency, three other people, including a 13-year-old child, were injured in the attack. One of the assailants also died during ‘an exchange of fire,’ Avignon prosecutor Florence Galtier confirmed.
At around 4:30am, the bride and groom, 25, were leaving their wedding venue in the village hall, when masked gunmen opened fire on the party. The other three attackers survived and fled the scene by foot, after initially arriving in a car.
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A statement from the prosecutor added: “A vehicle pulled in behind them, blocking their way, with a number of hooded individuals on board.
“These people then got out of the vehicle and started shooting in the direction of the victims, with what appear to have been various different kinds of weapons.”
As reported by the BBC and Le Figaro newspaper, two suspects have already been arrested and police are hunting for the third.
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While their identities have not been revealed, CBS News reports that a source close to the investigation said the violence could be linked to ‘drug-related score-settling’.
The groom is said to be from Cavaillon, and according to The Telegraph and Le Fiagro, is ‘well known to the police’.
He reportedly has 26 entries in the criminal records database, according to a police source.
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Police also reported that 28 people were present in the village hall at the time of the attack and local Mayor Didier Perello explained that the venue was booked back in March.
He added that it was booked out ‘for a wedding by people who don't live in the town’.
Expressing his ‘outrage,’ he said: "We're close to towns, I won't name them, where unfortunately, we've seen this kind of thing before."
Speaking to BFMTV, the mayor also commented on how the shooting has shocked the community.
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He said: “Goult is a quiet village, which has never experienced events of this type. Twenty-four hours later, we are still in shock… it is above all anger that drives us today.”
Meanwhile, Guillaume Molinas, a restaurant owner from the village 50, told AFP he is afraid this is going to ‘give the village a bad name’.
He added: “The last major incident in the village was 125 years ago”.
Topics: Crime, Wedding, World News
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Madison Burgess