A former winner of France’s version of The Voice was in hospital on Monday after being shot in the chest, sources familiar with the case told AFP.
Singer Kendji Girac was found wounded after police were called to a traveller camp in Biscarrosse on France’s southwestern coast.
Girac, who won The Voice in 2014 with a song written by his uncle, was admitted to hospital in Bordeaux but the injuries were not life-threatening, the sources, who asked not to be named, told AFP.
The 27-year-old, who has since sold millions of albums, told first responders he had accidentally shot himself while tinkering with a Colt 45 automatic pistol he had bought at a junk shop, one source said.
A Colt handgun was found without its magazine in a bush near the camp entrance, another source close to the investigation said.
A third source said police were not ruling anything out in their probe and had not immediately questioned Girac.
Police briefly locked down the scene of the shooting.
“This isn’t a gangland shooting. It’s an accident. He was playing with the thing and ‘bam’,” a man called Emilio, who said he was Girac’s uncle, told AFP at the camp.
“We were quietly playing the guitar… An accident can happen at any time,” said Emilio, who declined to give his surname.
Members of Girac’s family went to Bordeaux’s Haut-Leveque hospital but declined to speak to media.
A source close to the investigation and emergency services said the singer had never been in danger of dying from his wound, as had initially been reported, and that he was conscious when first responders arrived.
Girac is the stage name of Kendji Maille. His hits include “Color Gitano” and “Andalouse” (Andalucia) referencing his Catalan Roma heritage.
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