A 10-year-old boy has been shot dead in suspected drugs-related violence in the southern French town of Nîmes, authorities said Tuesday, with interior minister Gérald Darmanin mourning an "immense tragedy", reports Barron's.
The boy was travelling in a car with his uncle through the deprived Pissevin area of the city when they were targeted at around 1130 pm (2130 GMT) on Monday evening.
Local prosecutor Cécile Gensac told reporters Tuesday that the victim's family "was absolutely not associated in any way, neither before nor currently, in acts of a criminal nature."
Police are working on the assumption of mistaken identity, with the Renault Clio being driven by the boy's uncle resembling a car used in a separate drive-by shooting at the weekend.
"A 10-year-old child killed in what looks like a tit-for-tat attack between drug dealers," Darmanin wrote on X, formerly Twitter.