suspect arrested
Shots in Paris: at least three dead and two injured – racism a possible motive
Shots were fired in the Rue d’Enghien in Paris on the day before Christmas Eve
© Thomas Samson / AFP
At least three people were killed by gunfire in Paris and several were injured. The police arrested a suspect. There are first indications of a motive.
An unknown gunman shot dead three people and injured four others in central Paris. Two of them were in mortal danger, the public prosecutor said on Friday. The newspaper “Le Figaro” reports three dead and at least three injured, one of whom is life-threatening – in the afternoon the Paris public prosecutor confirmed that there was a third fatality. A person who was shot may have succumbed to their injuries.
Security forces arrested a 69-year-old man. According to the daily newspaper “Le Figaro” The responsible public prosecutor investigates whether the perpetrator had a racist motive. Because the suspect is said to be known to the judiciary for two attempted homicides, the newspaper reports. Accordingly, the man is said to have been the victim of a burglary in 2016, in which he attacked the intruder and injured him with a knife. He was tried for the case before prosecutors appealed, with no further details known about the case at this time. The second case is said to have been heard on December 8, 2021. The arrested man is said to have cut several tents in a migrant camp in Paris with a saber. He was charged with racially motivated violence with weapons and intent.
Shots also fired in a Kurdish community center
The fatal shots in Paris were fired in a Kurdish community center on Rue d’Enghien, among other places. Like the district mayor of the tenth arrondissement of Paris, Alexandra Cordebard said, the attacker also shot at a restaurant and a hair salon across from the center. The police called on Twitter to avoid the area. The fire brigade and rescue workers were on duty.
“There were seven or eight shots, there is panic,” said an eyewitness to the AFP news agency. “I saw two police officers go into a hairdressing salon where two people were lying on the ground, their legs were injured,” said resident Emmanuel Boujenan.
Mayor of Paris commemorates the victims
France’s Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced that he would go to the site of the attack. He wrote on Twitter that his thoughts are with the victims’ families. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo commemorated the victims and their families. A psychological support service will be set up in the 10th arrondissement town hall.
The public prosecutor’s office is investigating for murder and serious violence. The judicial police is initially responsible, not the terror prosecutor’s office.
Note: The article is continuously updated due to the situation.
Other sources: “BFMTV”, “Le Figaro”, “Le Parisian”.