Alarm gun sparks panic on streets of Nice
Several injuries as people flee cafes fearing an attack, although gun is noisy but harmless
Nice: People fled bars and restaurants in Nice in panic Monday after a man fired a noisy but harmless alarm gun into the air in the southern French resort town, police said.
Around a dozen people suffered minor injuries, some requiring hospital treatment, as people rushed out of bars and cafes fearing an attack, emergency services personnel said.
France has been hit by a string of terror attacks in recent years, raising the levels of security, and concern, in the country.
In March, an extremist gunman who killed four people and injured four others in a shooting spree in southwestern France.
Nice suffered a terrible attack in 2016 when a Tunisian man ploughed a truck through a large crowd gathered for Bastille Day fireworks in the Mediterranean city, killing 86 people and injuring more than 400.
Monday’s incident was the result of dispute between two couples.
In a tweet, local mayor Christian Estrosi thanked local traders who sounded the alarm, allowing police to arrest the person wielding the alarm gun.
