Eight people including a 7-year-old girl have been injured after masked men opened fire outside a mosque in the southern French city of Avignon.
Witnesses quoted by La Provence newspaper said two masked men, one armed with a handgun, the other with a shotgun, pulled up outside the mosque at around 10.30pm and began shooting just as crowds of people were leaving.
However, police said they had already ruled out terrorism as a motive, and local prosecutors were working on the theory that the shooting was part of a feud between local gangs.
At least four of those injured were standing outside the mosque while the 7-year-old girl was hit by shrapnel while sitting with her family in a second-floor apartment. None of the victims were seriously injured.
The shooting comes days after a man tried to drive a vehicle into crowds outside a mosque in Paris, but was prevented by barriers.
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On June 19, a man was charged with terrorism-related murder after ploughing his car into people near a mosque in north London, killing one.
DPA
