A bride was shot dead at her own wedding by a rampaging gang of gunmen in a horror attack – where one other also died and a child was injured.
The best day of the newlyweds’ lives came to a tragic halt when the four masked men shot at the bride and groom as they were leaving the celebrations at around 4.30am today.
The men were armed with ‘several types of weapons’, said Avignon public prosecutor Florence Galtier.
The bride, 27, and groom, 25, were reportedly leaving their car when they were ambushed by the attackers, who arrived in a golf cart.
In a desperate attempt to escape the attack, the groom reversed in his car and one of the gunmen was hit in return and killed.
A 13-year-old was in the couple’s car and received serious injuries alongside the husband. The husband’s sister was also hurt as police rushed to the Vaucluse venue, in Goult, in the south of France.
Dozens of police and a helicopters have been mobilised to track down the three remaining gunmen who fled the scene.
The terrifying incident might be linked to possible drug-related score-settling, according to a source close to the investigation.
It is said a large-scale operation involving around 100 police has been launched to find those responsible for the shooting, which plunged the tiny picturesque village of Goult into shock.
Local officials believe the attack was planned, and potentially gang-related, according to Le Figaro.
The groom had a long history of criminal offences and his sister also had a violent offence on her record, said the French newspaper.
The authorities have opened an investigation into murder and attempted murder by an organised gang.
Goult Mayor Didier Perello said he was ‘angry’ and ‘outraged’ by the attack, adding he would not rule out any possible explanations.
‘We’re close to towns, I won’t name them, where unfortunately, we’ve already seen this kind of thing before.
‘The village hall had been rented for a wedding by people who don’t live in the commune.’
Guillaume Molinas, 50, said he feared that the tragedy would ‘give the village a bad name.’
‘The last major incident in the village was 125 years ago,’ said the owner of a restaurant.
