A high-speed train was targeted by gunfire in Marseille, France, shortly before entering the Marseille-Saint-Charles railway station.
France’s intercity high-speed TGV train was shot at on Wednesday at around 9 pm, with the shots reportedly being fired as the train was exiting a tunnel.
France’s national railway company SNCF stated that there were no injuries but that the train showed several signs of impacts, with one bullet passing through the metal hull of one of the cars, broadcaster RTL reports.
The company added that it had launched an investigation and planned to file a complaint with law enforcement. SNCF also stated that such incidents are incredibly rare and noted that previous incidents had been related to gunfire from hunters.
Marseille has been plagued by gang violence involving firearms for years, particularly criminals who use Kalashnikov AK-47 rifles.
In 2011, the French government made attempts to tackle the problem, with the head of a local police union stating at the time that AK-47s had become incredibly popular among gang members and could be bought for as little as €500 (£429.50/$597.09).
In 2015, criminals even fired their automatic rifles at the police in one of the city’s most notorious housing estates. A similar incident occurred in 2018 when police confronted gang members in the neighbourhood of Busserine, and the criminals fired their guns in the air.
The shooting at the TGV train is also just the latest incidence of urban violence in France, which has become a major concern in the country and even prompted a letter from former senior military officers telling President Emmanuel Macron that the country faced a potential civil war and that the military may need to step in to restore order.
Shortly after the letter was released, a poll conducted by Harris Interactive revealed that nearly half of the French supported the notion of the military restoring order in the country, even if the government had not asked them to.
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