By admin 
PARIS — At least five people were injured Thursday evening in a shooting in Poitiers, west-central France, that sparked a gang fight involving hundreds of people, French news channel BFMTV reported Friday.
According to BFMTV, it was around 10:45 pm local time (2145 GMT) when people in a car fired gunshots in a square in Poitiers.
Police found five people injured by gunfire. Among them was a 15-year-old teenager in serious condition with head injuries, BFMTV reported, adding that two other teenagers had been shot in the shoulder and ankle.
Shortly after the shooting, clashes broke out in the square, initially involving around fifty people. Police reportedly had to use tear gas to disperse the crowd. BFMTV quoted the local prefect, Jean-Marie Girier, as stating that although several hundred people were present during the clashes, not all of them took part.
A police source told BFMTV that the ongoing investigation points to violence between rival drug gangs.
In a press release, Poitiers mayor Leonore Moncond’huy expressed deep regret over the violence, calling it “unacceptable for the neighborhood and the city.” She noted that the young ages of the victims and the people involved were “particularly striking and concerning.”