17-year-old fatally shot in Montbéliard, two witnesses in custody as prosecutor calls circumstances 'particularly nebulous'

Discovery and death

Emergency services arriving at the Petite Hollande housing estate in Montbéliard at 1:15 a.m. on Sunday found a 17-year-old boy unconscious with a gunshot wound to his hand and right buttock. Despite medical efforts, he was pronounced dead at 2:40 a.m. A shell casing was discovered nearby and blood stained the entrance door of the building where he was found.

I heard a firecracker noise and shouts, I thought they were celebrating a World Cup football match.

Victim's background

The victim lived in the neighbourhood and was already facing legal proceedings for group violence, the public prosecutor Paul-Édouard Lallois said. He ordered an autopsy.

Investigation

Lallois opened a voluntary homicide inquiry and described the circumstances as "particularly nebulous," stressing that no single lead was being favoured. The two young men who raised the alarm, a 20‑year‑old and a 16‑year‑old from the estate, were placed in police custody for questioning after their first statements were found to be contradictory, according to a police source cited by the prosecutor's office.

Divergent press account

A separate report by 20minutes.fr described an 18‑year‑old victim struck by several bullets in the nearby Pied des Gouttes district and dying during ambulance transport to Trévenans hospital. The public prosecutor's version, echoed by three other news outlets, refers to a single 17‑year‑old victim, one impact, and the Petite Hollande location. The discrepancy has not been clarified by authorities.