1 Killed, 6 Wounded in Shooting in Southern France

TEHRAN (defapress) - Two armed men opened fire on a group of people in the southern French city of Toulouse on Monday evening, killing one person and injuring six others, local media reported.

News ID: 65249

Date: 04 July 2017 - 11:43

The shooting happened at around 9:00 p.m. (1900 GMT) when two men on a motorcycle shot dead a man and injured others in the city's La Reynerie district before running away, said a Europe1 broadcaster.

Two of the injured people were in serious situation, according to the report.

Local officials said extra security forces had been deployed to the area.

"No possibilities are ruled out, but there is no terrorist element at this stage," regional authorities were quoted as saying, Xinhua news agency reported.

Citing a source close to the investigation, the broadcaster said the shooting is likely linked with settlement of old scores between gangs.

The La Reynerie district was also the scene of two shooting incidents last year, both believed to be a settling of scores. Monday's incident occurred one day after another shooting injured eight people in Avignon, also a city in southern France.

On Sunday night, a shooting happened in front of a mosque in Avignon. The La Provence newspaper cited a judicial source as saying that authorities are not considering the incident as a terrorist attack.

Local police suspected the shooting was due to a dispute between young people.

Four people were wounded outside the mosque while a family of four in their apartment some 50 meters away took shrapnel.

The newspaper report also quoted witnesses as saying the shooting began at around 10:30 p.m. (2030 GMT) on Sunday when one of the two gunmen with their faces covered fired shots as worshippers were leaving the mosque. The two gunmen then fled the scene.