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5 Jun, 2016 15:21

6 injured as gunman opens fire on tourist bus in France

6 injured as gunman opens fire on tourist bus in France

Six people have been injured when a bus carrying tourists came under fire on a highway in southeastern France, a local prosecutor said.

The bus was carrying 75 Czech tourists, including a group of children who were on a school trip, and was en route from Spain to the Czech Republic. The incident happened not far from the southeast French town of Saulce-sur-Rhone, when the bus was roughly halfway between Lyon and Marseille, local media report.

The gunman who targeted the bus apparently took up position on a bridge over the A7 motorway, along which the bus was traveling. An initial investigation revealed that the shooter used a hunting rifle, as one bullet was found inside the bus.

"An initial shot smashed the front windscreen and a second exploded the rear window of the vehicle a few seconds later," local prosecutor Alex Perrin told AFP.

Six people, including a child, were injured by broken glass as a result of the incident. One woman suffered a serious eye injury.

No arrests or claims of responsibility were made so far. Police describes the incident as an “isolated act.”

"We don`t have any reason to believe this bus was targeted instead of any other," Perrin said, as quoted by AFP.

Additional police forces have been deployed to all bridges crossing the A7 motorway.
The German Federal Intelligence Service released a report in April warning that Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) could target tourists at resorts in southern Europe, including in France, Italy and Spain, with suicide bombers potentially disguised as beach vendors.

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