It’s a small village of not even 600 inhabitants that wakes up in shock. Crépol, in the Drôme, was the scene of a surreal scene of violence when a group of young people showed up at a private party, armed. A 16-year-old boy was killed. An investigation was opened by the Valencia public prosecutor’s office. A look back at the information available on this drama.
An “expedition” in the middle of the night in a private party
“The ball was going well, it was coming to an end and people were starting to go home. That’s when they started to attack,” recalls Anthony, 16, in the columns of Parisian. “Them” are a group of at least ten people who went in the middle of the night to Crépol, a village 20 km north of Romans-sur-Isère. Around 350 people participated in the “winter ball” in the village of just over 500 inhabitants. A “private evening” which was held in the village hall of the town, explained to AFP the prosecutor of Valence, Laurent de Caigny.
Four security guards provided security at the entrance to the evening. One of them, who prohibited the group from entering, was injured with a knife. While he was in “difficulty”, people left the party and “a general brawl ensued”, said the prosecutor. “A gang came to kill people,” lamented the mayor (DVD) Martine Lagut quoted by the Dauphiné released. “They did not come to have fun but to do harm,” she assured.
A dramatic assessment
Firefighters, who responded to the scene shortly after 2 a.m., counted more than 20 victims. A 16-year-old boy, Thomas, died following “a stab wound” while on his way to Lyon hospital. Two young men were hospitalized in “absolute emergency”, according to emergency services. One of them, aged 28, received “stab wounds to the chest”. The second is 23 years old. A third person who was first declared in absolute emergency saw his condition improve, said the firefighters, who counted 17 additional victims, notably suffering from bruises.
“Denouncing the barbarity and tragedy” of the night, the RC Romans-Péage rugby club explained on X that the young man who died was one of its players and posted a photo of the young man all smiles in his jersey.
Witnesses in shock
Not really used to such violence, the town is in shock. “The population is traumatized. However, it was a friendly evening with 350 young people, everything had gone well until then. It seems unreal. You send your children to have fun and you come to collect a coffin… there are no words. However, there were four security guards monitoring the evening. As we were on Vigipirate plan, they were there to search the young people who were returning to the ball. But the attackers acted outside the village hall,” explained the mayor of the town, Martine Lagut, to Parisian.
The day after the incident, a retiree who lives next to the village hall said she initially thought it was an attack. “I looked at the square but at night, you can’t see anything there… Everything happened very quickly in any case… At first, I thought it was a terrorist attack,” she says At Dauphiné released.
Closer to the stage, Hugo, 18 years old, tells Parisian that he was “towards the entrance” when he saw “Thomas having a knife stuck in his heart and throat. A helicopter took him to Lyon, but unfortunately he got through there. I’m shocked because he was a colleague of mine, we played rugby together, we were at college together, and I saw him die. There was a battle between the attackers and those who had the courage to face them. » “I saw Thomas collapse. It traumatized me, adds Anthony on a daily basis. I was next to him, I have his blood on my sweater. It happened too quickly, I saw him with his hand on his stomach, dying. Why him ? »
Open investigation
An investigation was opened for “homicide and attempted homicide” “by an organized gang” and entrusted to the gendarmes, said the prosecutor.
According to the first elements collected, the arrival of the group of attackers was probably premeditated and “perhaps linked to a score to settle with someone” present at the evening, detailed Laurent de Caigny. No arrests have taken place at this stage.