Police have arrested a 69-year-old suspect for allegedly committing crimes against foreigners
Paris, (RT) December 22, Three people have been killed and four injured in a mass shooting in the French capital of Paris, Mayor Alexandra Cordevar of the city’s 10th arrondissement has confirmed. Police arrested the suspect and launched a murder investigation.
The attack occurred on Friday just before noon local time in central Paris. French TV station BFM reported that a gunshot was fired near the local Kurdish cultural center in the 10th district. There are also numerous shops, restaurants and bars nearby. Members of the Kurdish community gathered in front of the cultural center to vent their outrage over the shooting. Police used tear gas to disperse demonstrators.
Two of his injured in the attack are reportedly in critical condition. Witnesses told AFP news agency they saw two people with injuries to their legs.
In total, he fired seven to eight shots, causing chaos in the street, according to another eyewitness account cited by the press. “It was complete panic. We were locked up,” the store owner told reporters.
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Police quickly entered the area, arrested the 69-year-old suspect and seized the firearm allegedly used in the attack.
Emmanuel Grégoire, deputy mayor of Paris, thanked the security forces for their “quick response” on Twitter.
Prosecutors have opened a murder investigation, and the perpetrator’s motives are currently unknown. Citing police sources, the daily Le Monde said the suspect had a long criminal record, was detained for “violent behavior” in 2016, and attacked a migrant camp in Paris last December. The man had been held for attempted murder following an incident at a migrant camp, but was finally released from custody on December 12, Le Monde said. French Interior Minister Gerard Darmanin said he was on his way to Paris to visit the site of a “dramatic shooting”. At the scene of the shooting, the minister said it was “not certain whether the shooters were specifically targeting the Kurdish community” but rather intended to target “foreigners in general”.
