Federico Martin Aramburu: Former Argentina Player Shot Dead In Paris, Police Hunts For Extremists

Argentina rugby star Federico Martin Aramburu was shot and killed in Paris over the weekend. The 42-year-old former rugby union player was fatally shot in a drive-by shooting after an argument in a bar. A murder investigation has been underway leading authorities to three suspects believed to be right-wing extremists.

According to the Mirror, Aramburu’s killers have already been identified in the French media with two of them still at large. Two of the suspects were reported to be a man and a woman who were allegedly seen driving a Jeep just after 6 am on the day of Aramburu’s shooting and were also captured on CCTV footage. Another male suspect was identified as a former member of a French far-right student’s union.

Media reports tell of an altercation that Aramburu had been involved in with his friend and two other male patrons at the Mabillon Bar in Saint-Germain. The ruckus had bouncers intervening and separating the group only to have the other group return to the scene following the argument. The suspects were on board a vehicle and open-fired several shots at Aramburu.

A Biarritz Olympique player who was in the company of Aramburu at the time of the shooting said that the argument had been settled at the bar but the men came back and shot at them. Aramburu sustained 3 gunshot wounds and had died at the scene from his injuries after his killer shot at him several times as he walked back to his hotel after watching a game between France and England in the Six Nations.

Meanwhile, the 24-year-old female suspect was arrested by police on Monday and has been subjected to questioning.

Having played for the national team of Argentina, Aramburu was capped 24 times and represented his country in 2007 during the World Cup in France where the team was able to make it to the semi-finals. He debuted for his country in 2004 and in 2005 and 2006, Aramburu won the French Championship for the team. Prior to this, Aramburu’s career includes turning out for Biarritz Olympique, CASI, Perpignan, US Dax, and the Glasgow Warriors. Before his tragic death, he was reportedly living in France and had planned to fly home to Argentina the following week.

A tribute for Aramburu is in the works and has been planned out by the French rugby federation to take place before the Six Nations match on Saturday at the Stade de France.