French police responding to the sound of gunshots in the “sensitive” Marseille neighbourhood of Busserine Monday afternoon were confronted by a number of gun-carrying men who fired their weapons before fleeing, triggering a manhunt in the city.
There were no injuries during the incident, but the firearms which included a “Kalashnikov-style” long gun and a handgun were fired into the sky by the perpetrators.
Police officers were driving to the scene of the disturbance when their way was blocked by a dark coloured Renault Megane, from which two men carrying the weapons disembarked. They fired their weapons into the air, reports FranceBleu, and then immediately fled.
The situation developed further when another police car arrived to support the first, but their way was also blocked by another Renault type car. It is reported there were as many as four occupants in that vehicle, also carrying firearms. One of the passengers is reported to have pointed his Kalashnikov-type weapon at the officers but did not fire. The officers fired at the vehicle and hit one of the windows as it drove away and escaped.
Investigators found 9mm and 7.62 bullet cases at the scene. A perimeter was set up, and the investigation is ongoing, but no arrests have been made so far.
France’s Le Figaro reports the Marseille neighbourhood where the shooting took place is a “sensitive” zone — French government parlance for what is commonly known in English as a ‘No Go Zone‘ — and a known centre for drug dealing, suggesting that police officers may have interrupted a drug deal.
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