Booba attack: Gang targets French rapper video team

French rapper Booba performs during Les Vieilles Charrues Festival in Carhaix, France, 18 July 2019Image copyright
EPA

Image caption

Booba had been filming his new music video Glaive, but had left the set by the time of the attack

Shots were fired and three people were wounded when a gang armed with guns, iron bars and baseball bats attacked a team filming a video for rapper Booba in the northern suburbs of Paris.

Up to 20 people took part in the attack outside a disused warehouse in Aulnay-sous-Bois, Europe 1 radio reported.

Booba had already left the set by the time of the assault, shortly before midnight on Tuesday.

Three people were hurt including the video director, the radio station said.

One local person watching the film crew was shot in the legs and taken to hospital, reports said. The director and another member suffered head wounds after they were attacked with baseball bats.

The crew fled in a car and were reportedly chased by the attackers until they found refuge in a shop.

Local Le Parisien reporter Victor Tassel said the video had been filmed on wasteland in Aulnay’s industrial area. Investigators said they had no idea of a motive for the attack.

Booba and his team had been filming a video for his new song Glaive, which came out at the start of August.

On Monday night, the rapper had attracted crowds of fans at Nanterre to the east of Paris when another part of the video was filmed, featuring boxer Bilel Jkitou in a luminous boxing ring.

According to Le Parisien, the video was being directed by French filmmaker Chris Macari, who has worked with Booba for several years. Booba’s film crew tweeted shots of the set in Nanterre on Monday, as well as a short video of Booba holding a dog.

Booba, whose real name is Elie Yaffa, filled the Paris La Défense Arena with a concert last October, at the end of a difficult period in which he was handed an 18-month suspended prison sentence for a brawl with fellow rapper Kaaris.

Media captionBooba (pictured) is a well-known rival of Kaaris

The two rappers have collaborated in the past but then fell out, prompting a rivalry that spilled out in a duty-free shop at Orly airport.

Their fight in August 2018 led to part of the airport being temporarily closed and delays for hundreds of travellers.

Booba attack: Gang targets French rapper video team