Tragedy in Nice seven people killed in a fire: one person in police custody

Seven people lost their lives on the night of Wednesday 17 to Thursday 18 July in Nice, when a fire broke out in a flat in the Moulins district. The victims included three children, a teenager, two women and a man, all members of the same family.

One person was arrested and taken into custody. It is not one of the three individuals wanted, but someone close to them.

Criminal investigation

The Nice public prosecutor announced that the investigation was focusing on the ‘criminal’ angle. ‘In view of the initial evidence, I have opened an investigation into arson resulting in death’, he said on Thursday morning.

The prosecutor added that caution should be exercised regarding the motive for the criminal act, but that the possibility of a conflict linked to drug trafficking, with no direct link to the victims and their families, was being explored. ‘The events could be part of a conflict over drug trafficking’, he said in a statement issued late on Thursday.

Details of the suspects

CCTV footage shows three young men ‘with unmasked faces, dressed simply in T-shirts and shorts’ getting out of a vehicle. Although the images do not show any bulky objects being carried, the three suspects were seen breaking down the front door of the building to gain entry.‘They emerged very shortly afterwards and fled.
The fire broke out immediately afterwards,’ said the prosecutor.