A joyous celebration at a wedding in Thionville, Lorraine, France turned into a scene of tragedy in the early hours of June 30, 2024. Around 1:15 a.m., three masked and heavily armed men stormed the Eden Palace reception hall, firing multiple rounds at guests who had stepped outside to smoke. The attack left two people dead and four other people injured, including a pregnant woman.
Approximately 100 guests from the Turkish community were attending the wedding when the gunmen, dressed in black hoodies, arrived in a BMW and opened fire. Eyewitnesses described the horror as bullets pierced the airlock leading to the reception room. “At a quarter past one in the morning, a group of people went outside to smoke in front of the hall, and then three heavily armed men arrived and opened fire in their direction,” said a police source.
Authorities quickly attributed the violence to a gang-related dispute, a common issue in the border region of Lorraine, plagued by drug trade. “Clearly, we are heading towards a settling of scores against a backdrop of drug trafficking,” an unnamed police source stated.
The Eden Palace, known for hosting large gatherings, was soon swarmed by emergency services and police officers, who found a scene of chaos. “Numerous shell casings were discovered at the scene,” reported a regional daily publication. The injured, aged between 25 and 50, were rushed to Bel-Air Hospital.
“The wedding was not targeted as such; it was people who were at the wedding,” a police spokesperson clarified. This sentiment was echoed by Pierre Cuny, the mayor of Thionville, who expressed his moral support to the victims and the newlyweds without further comment due to the ongoing investigation.
As police continue their investigation, the search for the gunmen and their vehicle extends to neighboring Germany and Luxembourg, just over nine miles away. This incident follows a similar shooting in Villerupt, Meurthe-et-Moselle, in May 2023, which also involved rival gangs and resulted in multiple injuries.