Toddler among victims as violence erupts at Loon-Plage camp near Dunkirk – with more than 1,000 migrants crossing Channel in just 24 hours
A two-year-old child is fighting for life after being shot during a deadly attack at a French migrant camp that left one man dead and five others wounded.
Police and other emergency services rushed to the large Loon-Plage camp around 10am on Saturday.
The toddler was among six people hit by gunfire when violence erupted at the sprawling makeshift camp near Dunkirk, which houses hundreds of migrants hoping to reach Britain.
The child is reported to have been seriously injured, along with one of the adults. The two-year-old was taken by helicopter to the Lille University Hospital.
African migrants targeted in camp shooting
A local French official confirmed one man was fatally wounded. He said that five other migrants at the camp, including a very young child had suffered bullet wounds.
The victims are believed to be African migrants.
Emergency services launched a major response to the shooting, with multiple ambulance crews and a rescue helicopter dispatched to the scene.
Two local ambulance crews, as well as paramedics from the fire service and a rescue helicopter, responded to the incident.
Camp cordoned off as police launch investigation
French authorities have sealed off the entire perimeter of the notorious Loon-Plage camp as detectives work to identify the shooter and establish a motive for the attack.
The perimeter of the Loon-Plage camp is completely cordoned off, as police carry out a detailed investigation.
The seriously injured man, and three other less seriously wounded migrants have been taken to hospital in Dunkirk.
The camp, located just miles from beaches where migrants launch small boats to cross the Channel, has become increasingly violent in recent months.
Surge in camp violence amid smuggler disputes
Saturday’s deadly shooting marks the latest in a string of violent incidents plaguing the migrant camps of northern France.
This latest shooting is the most serious, with several other shootings and stabbings have occurred at the camp in recent weeks, in regular disputes between rival groups of migrants and people smugglers.
The violence has escalated dramatically in recent days:
On Friday, a man was shot in the foot in a suspected dispute with a smuggler. Last Monday, a 27-year-old Yemeni man was shot three times but survived.
A 26-year-old man from Afghanistan was also shot in the thigh in the camp earlier in the week.
Shooting comes as 1,000 cross Channel in 24 hours
The deadly violence erupted as the small boat crisis intensified, with more than a thousand migrants successfully reaching British shores in just one day.
The latest deadly violence erupted as more than a thousand small boat migrants crossed to the UK in just 24 hours.
On Friday, 919 migrants made the illegal crossing in 14 small boats.
Early this morning, a further 133 arrived in UK waters on three migrant boats.
The surge in crossings has pushed this year’s total to alarming levels.
It takes the total who have crossed from France in small boats so far this year to more than 16,700.
Government vows crackdown on ‘ruthless’ smuggling gangs
The Home Office condemned the violence and pledged to intensify efforts to dismantle the criminal networks behind the Channel crossings.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay and we will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models and bring them to justice.
That is why this government has put together a serious plan to take down these networks at every stage.
The government outlined its multi-pronged approach to tackling the crisis:
Through international intelligence sharing under our Border Security Command, enhanced enforcement operations in Northern France and tougher legislation in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, we are strengthening international partnerships and boosting our ability to identify, disrupt, and dismantle criminal gangs whilst strengthening the security of our borders.
Loon-Plage: A camp plagued by violence
The Loon-Plage camp has become synonymous with the migrant crisis gripping northern France, serving as a staging post for thousands attempting the perilous Channel crossing.
Located near Dunkirk’s beaches, the camp regularly houses several hundred migrants living in tents and makeshift shelters while they wait for smugglers to arrange boat crossings to Britain.
French authorities have repeatedly attempted to clear the site, but it quickly re-forms as new arrivals replace those who have crossed or been moved on.
The shooting of a two-year-old child marks a horrifying new low in the violence that has become commonplace at the camps dotting France’s northern coastline, raising urgent questions about the safety of vulnerable migrants caught between ruthless smuggling gangs and their desperate dreams of reaching Britain.
