MARSEILLE: Adrien Anigo, 30-year-old son of the sports director of Marseille, has been gunned down in a suspected gangland killing.

It was the second such shooting in Marseille on Thursday, and is believed to be one of 15 similar killings in the southern French city so far this year.

Police said the son of Jose Anigo was shot at point blank range, at least once in the head, in a northern suburb of Marseille in late afternoon. The gunmen fled the scene on motorbikes.

Adrien Anigo had been in custody in the past, accused of taking part in a series of armed robberies, but had been released.

Hours earlier, a 24-year-old man was shot dead as he arrived for work in a town some 30km (20 miles) from Marseille.

Many of the street killings around Marseille this year have been linked to drugs trafficking. Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault last month sent in extra riot police and investigators to try to stem the killings.

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