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Accused Recants at Villerupt Shooting Trial, Tells Court: “I Didn’t Shoot”

Prosecutors are trying him for attempted murder over the 2023 attack at a Villerupt deal point that wounded five people.

Les lieux d'une fusillade à Villerupt, le 14 mai 2023 en Meurthe-et-Moselle
Un ruban de police sur les lieux d'une fusillade à Villerupt, le 14 mai 2023 en Meurthe-et-Moselle
Des membres de la police scientifique sur les lieux d'une fusillade à Villerupt, le 13 mai 2023 en Meurthe-et-Moselle

Overview

  • Abdelkrim Bellot, 40, opened his trial Tuesday before the Meurthe-et-Moselle assize court in Nancy and declared he was not the gunman.
  • During the judicial inquiry he had acknowledged the attack and cited revenge for a filmed humiliation of his brother, a version he is now disputing.
  • The May 13, 2023 shooting involved a masked assailant firing about twenty rounds with a submachine gun under a porch at a known deal site.
  • Five people aged 17 to 30 were wounded, three seriously, and the youngest victim now uses a wheelchair.
  • Bellot was arrested two days after fleeing in a stolen vehicle and also faces counts for written or filmed death threats, receiving stolen goods, and destroying the getaway car; he has a lengthy criminal record and had been released from prison on April 6, 2023.