Three people were killed and three others injured this Friday following gunshots in Paris, rue d’Enghien, in the 10th arrondissement. Among the injured, one is in absolute emergency. The alleged shooter was arrested according to a police source.
“There are three deceased, one person in a state of absolute emergency, two people in a state of relative emergency and the defendant who could be arrested, is also injured, in particular in the face”, confirmed the prosecutor of the Republic of Paris, Laure Beccuau, during a press point on the spot. Gérald Darmanin is expected on site in the next few hours.
According to our information, the shooting took place in the Kurdish Cultural Center Ahmet-Kaya, at 16 rue d’Enghien. There were also shootings in a restaurant and at a hairdresser, according to Alexandra Cordebard present at the scene.
“We saw an old white gentleman come in and shoot in the Kurdish cultural center, then he went to the hair salon next door. We took refuge in the restaurant with the employees, ”testified Romain, the deputy director of the restaurant Pouliche Paris, in the street, contacted by telephone by AFP.
The suspect is a 69-year-old retiree
The 69-year-old suspect opened fire at several people. Of French nationality, he would be a retiree from the SNCF, where he worked as a driver. During his arrest, the police got their hands on the weapon that he used to shoot. We do not yet know anything about his motives. According to our information, this man was under judicial supervision and was prohibited from possessing a weapon.
The man was known for two attempted homicides, one in 2016 and the second last year. He then attacked a migrant center in the 12th arrondissement with a saber in 2021 and had just been released from prison on December 12. A judicial inquiry had been opened.
The man had been indicted for violence with a weapon with premeditation of a racist nature as well as for degradation. He was then placed in pre-trial detention. A police source told AFP at the time that the man was suspected of having stabbed at least two migrants in a camp in Paris on the morning of December 8, 2021 and damaged several tents of a camp in Parc de Bercy, in the 12th arrondissement of the capital. The prosecutor confirmed that he had recently been released.
The second antecedent would concern “facts in Seine-Saint-Denis where he would have recently been tried, would have been convicted, but following the conviction an appeal would have been lodged by the prosecution”, indicated Laure Beccuau.
An open psychological cell
An investigation has been opened into the counts of murder, intentional homicide and aggravated violence. The investigations were entrusted to the anti-terrorist section of the criminal brigade. The national anti-terrorist prosecutor’s office and its services came to the scene “but as it stands, (…) there is no element which would favor the need for their referral”, underlined the prosecutor.
The racist motives of the facts “will obviously be part of the investigations which have just begun with a very large deployment of staff” from the investigation services, she further declared.
On Twitter, the police headquarters asked Parisians to “avoid the area” and “let the emergency services intervene” in this district which includes the Grand Rex or the Porte Saint-Denis. The surroundings have also been cordoned off and residents are invited to remain confined.
“A psychological cell will open in the town hall of the 10th,” Anne Hidalgo announced on Twitter after the tragedy. The mayor of Paris also thanked the police “for their decisive intervention”, addressing her “moved thoughts to the victims and their families”.
” I’m mad. As we approach the 10-year anniversary of the assassination of three Kurdish women (the murder of three Kurdish activists on the night of January 9 to 10, 2013, also in the 10th arrondissement), meetings were preparing to organize an event. We are very worried. The tensions had subsided, we are very surprised”, confided to the Parisian a member of the Kurdish community, 32 years old, residing in Île-de-France, who says “waiting for answers”.
“We’ve been coming here to the center for years, organizing cultural, dance and music activities,” he added. “We are starting to come together. Knowing the community, the Kurds will come from everywhere. »
On Twitter, the Minister of the Interior, currently on the move, announced that he was returning to Paris this Friday. “Following the dramatic shooting that took place this morning, I am returning to Paris and will go there. All my thoughts go out to the loved ones of the victims. The author was arrested, ”confirms Gérald Darmanin.