Small boat migrant found dead riddled with bullets on French coast after being gunned down ‘by people smugglers'
The deceased man - in his late teens or early 20s – is the latest victim of a surge of shootings around a camp at Loon-Plage, on the outskirts of Dunkirk.
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Investigating sources revealed on Monday: "He was hit by seven bullets.
"The camp was full of people hoping to get to Britain, when he was confronted by gunmen.
"Around twenty bullets were fired in all, and seven entered the man's body."
The source added how emergency service workers were at the scene but tragically couldn't save him.
The Dunkirk prosecutor visited the crime scene, which on Monday was blocked off, and surrounded by armed police.
The hunt was meanwhile launched for the "suspected people smugglers" responsible for murder, said the source.
It was the latest in a long list of heinous shootings around Loon-Plage beach, from where small inflatable boats with migrants onboard regularly set off for Britain.
In June, a Sudanese man was shot dead and a mother-and-child wounded by suspected people smugglers the same camp.
The horrific bloodbath unfolded when a gang opened fire on specific targets, while hitting passers-by.
Two males – a man and a 17-year-old minor connected to a people smuggling gang – were then arrested, and face charges of "murder by an organised gang' and "attempted murder by an organised gang."
There were also charges related to possession of a range of weapons, believed to include pistols and rifles.
Migrant hotel protesters take to the streets again as demonstrations spread across the country in weekend stand-off
Beyond the dead Sudanese man, three other men were seriously wounded and taken to hospital in Dunkirk.
All of the violence is said to be linked to people smugglers "settling scores" against those who do not pay them.
The cost of a single voyage to Britain in a small boat is now as much as £1500 cash.
In December, a gun enthusiast was charged with the murders of five men including UK-bound migrants around Loon Plage.
Frenchman Paul Domis, 22, was remanded in custody after confessing to a lethal shooting spree in the area.
During less than an hour of intense violence, Domis allegedly targeted three former colleagues, and two Iraqi-Kurds who had intended to get to Britain on small boats.
Charlotte Huet, the Dunkirk prosecutor, said Domis faced 'life in prison' for 'three targetted assassinations' of men he knew, and two further charges of 'murder' of the migrants.
Domis will be remanded in custody until a quintuple murder trial is held later this year, or in 2026.
The Loon-Plage camp is an illegal one, but growing everyday as migrants from all over the world arrive.
In the first half of this year, some 20,000 migrants crossed the English Channel to the UK, up almost 50 per cent on the corresponding period last year.
Numbers of what the British government calls "irregular migrants" keep rising, with 638 arriving on the coast of England in the seven days to last Friday.
Bruno Retailleau, France's Interior Minister, regularly pledges tougher action against the highly organised smuggling guns operating in northern France.
He said: "Our government will intensify the fight against these mafias who are getting rich by organising these crossings of death."
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Who is Shane Tamura and what do we know about the alleged shooter at Blackstone's NYC offices?
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Reuters
12 minutes ago
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Daily Mail
12 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Manhattan shooter identified as Las Vegas man, Shane Tamura, 27
The man who unleashed chaos inside a Midtown Manhattan office tower on Monday afternoon has been identified as Shane Devon Tamura, a 27-year-old licensed private investigator from Las Vegas who once dreamed of a life in football. Authorities say Tamura, who had a 'documented mental health history', arrived in Manhattan by car on Monday afternoon following a mammoth cross-country trip. The NYPD revealed on Monday night how Tamura had traveled through Colorado on July 26, through Nebraska on July 27 and through Columbia, New Jersey as recently as 4pm on Monday before arriving in Manhattan to carry out his deadly rampage. When he arrived, he parked his black BMW around the corner from 345 Park Avenue in the heart of Midtown Manhattan before brazenly striding across a wide city plaza with his long-form M4 rifle in plain sight, by his side. 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'You never would have thought violence was something you'd associate with him,' classmate Caleb Clarke told NBC. 'Everything he said was a joke.' His former coach Walter Roby said Tamura was a talented football player and a 'quiet kid'. 'I'm just blown away right now,' he said. But in the years after he left the field, Tamura's life became murkier. He eventually relocated to Las Vegas, where he earned a private investigator's license and obtained a concealed carry permit to carry firearms, both legally granted through Nevada's Sheriff's Department. The latter part of Tamura's life is largely invisible to the public. Investigators in both Nevada and New York are now urgently combing through his car, phone, and computer in search of answers to try and work out what stressors or perceived injustices led him to carry out Monday's deadly shooting. During a late night press conference NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the police found a rifle case with rounds, a loaded revolver, ammunition and magazines, as well as a backpack and medication prescribed to Tamura. 'Police want to know what brought him to that building, who or what the target was, and what the grievance or motive behind it might have been,' Miller explained. 'These cases often involve people who experience a downfall and begin to blame others - bosses, institutions, society at large. 'Then they decide to get even with everybody, even though in most cases, the problem is usually them,' Miller said. Investigators are also poring over Tamura's social media footprint, hoping it might offer clues - manifestos, threats, cryptic posts, or grievances that might have foreshadowed his violent act. As of now, police have not said whether Tamura had any personal or professional connection to the building or its tenants, but they are leaving no stone unturned. Authorities say there's no immediate evidence of any accomplices, but they are working methodically to verify that no other individual helped plan or facilitate his movements across state lines or into the high-security office tower. Miller emphasized that shooters like Tamura often spiral quietly, building a world of resentment that no one sees until it erupts in tragedy. 'They blame their problems on other people and entities,' he said. 'Then they decide to get even - with the world, with everyone - even though the problem usually begins and ends with themselves.' No motive has yet been officially released, but the scene suggests Tamura had a plan that ended with his own death. The shooting caused widespread chaos in Midtown. Workers from nearby finance firms spilled into the streets, hands raised above their heads as NYPD officers locked down the building and initiated a floor-by-floor search. Nearby worker Anna Smith, who had just stepped out to grab dinner, described the moment panic took over. 'It was like a crowd panic,' she said. 'People just started running. We had no idea what was going on.' For roughly two hours, office workers were locked inside surrounding buildings as SWAT teams secured the area. The city's emergency management system issued alerts about road closures, subway disruptions, and traffic delays around Grand Central Terminal and St. Patrick's Cathedral, both just blocks from the shooting scene.
