Two suspects detained after fatal shooting of man at café in Roubaix

The shooting at the Roubaix café

Emergency responders received an alert around 16:30 on Tuesday, 29 September 2026, reporting that gunshots had been fired inside a café-snack in Roubaix, located in the Nord department. The business was situated 500 metres from the Roubaix velodrome and directly across the street from a hospital. A masked assailant wearing a hood entered the commercial premises in broad daylight and discharged approximately half a dozen bullets at a patron. Medical teams from the Samu and local firefighters arrived at the establishment to treat the injured man. Despite rapid medical intervention on the scene, the victim died from his bullet wounds shortly after the shooting. Source accounts varied regarding the victim's precise age within his twenties, with Ouest France reporting that he was 22 years old and a police source cited by SudOuest indicating he was approximately 26 years old.

Pursuit and interception of Paris-region suspects

Following the attack inside the café, the shooter fled the scene in an SUV. Law enforcement officers deployed across the metropolitan area to locate the vehicle and intercept the fleeing suspects. Police units caught two individuals in the Roubaix agglomeration shortly after the homicide took place. Officers intervened as the two suspects were attempting to set fire to their getaway vehicle to destroy evidence. According to a police source, both individuals had travelled to the Nord department from the Paris region. The same source indicated that one of the two detained individuals, a 17-year-old minor, is suspected of being the shooter who carried out the fatal attack.

Criminal inquiry into suspected narcotics dispute

The public prosecutor of Lille, Samuel Finielz, confirmed that a formal criminal homicide investigation had been opened following the fatal shooting. The case was assigned to the criminal brigade of the Northern Interdepartmental Judicial Police Service (SIPJ). Investigators from the national anti-narcotics office (Ofast) were also deployed to the scene alongside the judicial police. Initial reporting from regional daily La Voix du Nord indicated that authorities are investigating a possible settlement of scores linked to narcotics trafficking. A source close to the inquiry described the targeted daytime killing inside the café as an execution.

Formal custody and forensic procedures

On Wednesday, 30 September 2026, judicial authorities placed both suspects in formal police custody (garde à vue) as the investigation progressed. The custody order followed the initial arrests carried out by police forces shortly after the incident on Tuesday. Forensic specialists carried out technical examinations on the SUV that the suspects had attempted to incinerate in the Roubaix urban area. Investigators also secured the crime scene near the velodrome to recover shell casings and interview witnesses present during the shooting.

Lille prosecutors confirmed that custody hearings and investigations by the SIPJ would proceed to trace the route taken by the two Paris-region suspects and clarify the motive behind the fatal attack.