Federico Aramburu, a former Argentine rugby international who spent the majority of his career playing for French teams, was killed in a drive-by shooting in Paris on Saturday, according to sources close to the investigation.
At around 06:00, Aramburu and several pals were having burgers and preparing to call it a night in the trendy Saint-Germain neighbourhood on the Left Bank when they were attacked.
They were separated by bouncers after a heated fight with another group of guests at the Mabillon bar, but the other group later returned in a car and fired six bullets, according to one police source.
“There was an altercation, as there can be at the end of the evening. It was settled but the men came back and fired at Aramburu, who took three bullets,” said a former Biarritz Olympique player who was with him, asking to remain anonymous.
“Several bullet marks” were found on the spot, added a source close to the investigation, and Aramburu died at the scene as a result of his injuries.
Federico Aramburu won 22 caps for Argentina
A murder investigation has been opened, the Paris prosecutor’s office said, and the suspects were still being sought on Saturday.
Aramburu, 42, was a back who won 22 Argentina caps and played in the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France, scoring a try as the Pumas beat the hosts in the third-place playoff.
He played club rugby in France for Biarritz, Perpignan and Dax from 2004 to 2010, winning the top 14 twice with Biarritz and later sitting on the club’s board of directors.
Since his retirement from sport, he had lived in Biarritz and worked for a tourism company.
A tribute was held on Saturday night at the Stade de France stadium during the France-England clash, the last game of the 2022 Six Nations tournament, the French Rugby Federation said.
By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse
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