Young French cyclist rides to hospital after being shot by a gunman in a moving vehicle
Clément Delcros was struck by a bullet fired from a passing car near Toulouse, France
A young French cyclist out for a training ride near Toulouse, France was struck by a bullet shot by a gunman in a passing vehicle on Tuesday. Clément Delcros is an 18-year-old cyclist riding for the l’Amical Vélo Club Aix-en-Provence team and after being shot was still able to ride to a nearby hospital with the bullet lodged in his shoulder.
“I was at the end of a workout. I was one kilometre from home. I was riding at 50 km/h, on a false flat downhill,” Delcros recounted to DirectoVelo. “I saw that a car was coming the other way. Once the vehicle was next to me, I heard a bang.”
As a vehicle approached Delcros, he says he heard a loud bang and felt pain in his shoulder. At first, he thought a passenger may have thrown a stone that struck him. The injury was bleeding heavily. The scary incident took place close enough to a nearby hospital that he was able to ride to get the medical attention he needed. Doctors decided not to immediately remove the bullet.
“I saw that I had a wound on my left shoulder. I first thought that a passenger in the car had thrown a rock or something to mess with me. I really did not realize right away. I was bleeding heavily. I stopped immediately. People asked me if I needed help. I was near a hospital so I went there, by bike.”
Doctors discovered the bullet was still lodged in his shoulder upon his arrival in the emergency room. They decided not to immediately remove it because it hadn’t caused any serious damage.
Delcros filed a report with the police. On social media, he expressed his disbelief with the situation.
“Just shocked and sad … Tonight while I was training I was shot in my shoulder. The bullet is still in my body at this time,” Delcros wrote. “Even if I tell myself that the situation could have been far worse if not for a few centimetres, I realize that in life everything can very quickly change.”
Delcros had a follow up with doctors on Wednesday and reported being able to still lift his arm despite the injury.
