TOULOUSE, July 3, 2008 (AFP) - Three children and seven adults injured at a military show in France when a soldier mistakenly fired live bullets on the crowd, were still in hospital Thursday, hospital officials said.
Seventeen people including five children were wounded when a sergeant shot real bullets instead of blanks at spectators watching a mock hostage rescue operation at a barracks near Carcassonne in southwestern France.
The youngest of the victims, a three-year-old boy who received bullet wounds to the heart and arm, was recovering from an operation in hospital in the southwestern city of Toulouse.
Two other boys, aged nine and 10, were recovering from injuries to the leg and lungs respectively.
A 40-year-old man was still in intensive care in Carcassonne, while two other men and four women remained hospitalised across the region.
The chief of staff of the French army, Bruno Cuche, resigned Tuesday over the incident, amid reports he had been stung into leaving by fierce criticism by President Nicolas Sarkozy.
The 28-year-old sergeant responsible for the shooting was suspended and charged Tuesday with breach of security regulations and causing "unintentional injuries". He faces up to three years in prison if convicted.
bur/ec/rlp
07/03/2008 16:41 GMT