Father seriously injured by gunfire in Boussu after requesting calm
A resident of Rue de Dour was shot by an individual known to police after asking him to drive more slowly near children. The neighbourhood was sealed off for much of the morning.
Father seriously injured by gunfire in Boussu after requesting calm
On Wednesday morning, the Rue de Dour neighbourhood in Boussu was plunged into shock. At first light, a father was struck by several bullets after simply asking a neighbour to make less noise with his two-wheeler. The victim, seriously injured, was evacuated to a hospital.
According to testimony gathered at the scene, the attacker is a regular troublemaker in the area. He regularly drives recklessly on his motorbike or scooter through the alleyways where children play. In the early hours, around 4 or 5 in the morning, he accelerates in front of the gate so his wife will come open it for him. That day, a father asked him to moderate his speed in the presence of the young people. The discussion escalated into a conflict.
"It first turned into a fight, then he came back down the street armed and fired," recounts a neighbour. The latter claims to have heard four gunshots, without knowing whether all of them hit the target. In any case, the victim's prognosis was life-threatening.
At dawn, law enforcement sealed off the perimeter. For hours, no resident was able to leave his home. "Around 8.10am, I wanted to leave for work. The officers walked me back to my door," says a resident. Police officers were stationed in every alleyway and every side passage of the gardens.
Residents of the neighbourhood indicate that this is not the first intervention of this scale targeting the same individual. "Every night he causes disorder. He has taken over the neighbourhood," laments a witness. "For once a father wanted to defend his children, he ends up in hospital. It's a topsy-turvy world."
The Mons public prosecutor's office confirmed it had been seized of the matter. The Forensic Police Laboratory attended the scene to conduct investigations. The author of the gunfire was apprehended and a judicial investigation was opened.
This is not the first time Rue de Dour has been the subject of such an alert. Last May, a dispute over a parking space had already provoked a shooting in the middle of the street. The shooter had fled before the officers arrived and an investigation had been launched to find him.
Source: DHnet