Deadly wedding gunfire: two men arrested and detained in Luberon
Unraveling the Violent Ambush at a Luberon Wedding
Four days have passed since the brutal attack that claimed two lives, including the bride, at a wedding in a Luberon village, Vaucluse. On June 27th evening, two men were taken into custody, charged with premeditated murder, as announced by the Marseille prosecutor.
Two of the men, captured on Sunday soon after the incident, were part of a group of four perpetrators. One of them was killed, while another remains at large, according to Nicolas Bessone.
Sunday, around 4:15 AM, at the parking lot outside Goult village's town hall, where the wedding festivities had just concluded, four masked men arrived in a vehicle and opened fire on the vehicle filled with the newlyweds, the bride's niece, her companion, and the bride's 13-year-old nephew. The prosecutor provided these details.
One of the attackers perished
"The armed men fired, fatally wounding the bride, who was hit multiple times near the carotid artery," the prosecutor declared. "The rounds also struck the groom multiple times in the upper body, while the young boy suffered damage to his lungs, initially threatening his vital signs," added the public ministry.
The bride's sister, seated in a nearby vehicle, was also hit in the shoulder. The attacker who died was struck by gunfire in the back and head and was also hit by a vehicle during the siege. After the assault, his three confederates fled on foot.
Approximately 50 gendarmes from Marseille and the Vaucluse gendarmerie group, backed by the GIGN and the gendarmerie air section, conducted a search of the area and apprehended two of the attackers in a nearby commune around 11:00 AM. The remaining suspect remains at large.
Suspected score-settling
The Avignon prosecutor's office assumed jurisdiction over the case on Monday, later transferring it to the Marseille Interregional Specialized Jurisdiction (Jirs). Following their 96 hours in custody, the detained men were indicted on charges such as organized murder, attempted gang murder, and criminal association, among others. They were remanded into custody.
In its statement, the Marseille prosecutor's office refrained from speculating the attackers' motivations. However, sources close to the case suggest that the groom, originally from Cavaillon, had several encounters with the authorities, including drug-related offenses and organised crime.
Preliminary investigations on Sunday indicated the possibility of a score-settling linked to drug trafficking. "I believe it was a targeted attack," mayor Didier Perello stated during an impromptu press conference.
[1] A report from Le Parisien[2] An article from Le Figaro[3] An article from France Bleu Provence[4] A report from BFMTV[5] A press release from the Marseille prosecutor's office
The brutal attack in a Luberon village on June 27th evening, which involved the murder of the bride and another victim, may have been a case of score-settling, possibly related to drug trafficking, as suggested by sources familiar with the case.
This incident, along with other war-and-conflicts, politics, general-news, and crime-and-justice topics, is currently being covered by multiple news outlets worldwide, such as Le Parisien, Le Figaro, France Bleu Provence, BFMTV, and the Marseille prosecutor's office.
