A shooting left at least three dead and three injured this Friday noon, in the 10th arrondissement of Paris. The suspect, a 69-year-old Frenchman, was arrested. He is already known to the judicial services for having attacked migrants. 20 minutes review what is known about this case.
What happened ?
This Friday, around noon, a man opened fire in a shopping district of the 10th arrondissement of Paris, at the level of the Ahmet Kaya Kurdish Cultural Center, located at 16, rue d’Enghien, and in a hairdressing salon. “We saw an old white gentleman come in and shoot at the Kurdish cultural center. Then he went to the hair salon next door. We are refugees in the restaurant with the employees, ”says Romain, the deputy director of the restaurant Pouliche Paris, in the street, contacted by telephone by AFP. According to another witness, a resident of the neighborhood passing in the street, “there were people in panic who shouted at the police: “He is there, he is there! Come on”, pointing to a hairdressing salon. I saw police enter the living room, where I saw two people on the ground, with injuries to their legs, I saw blood,” he added, describing “people in shock and in panic”. .
Who are the victims ?
A provisional assessment of the Paris prosecutor’s office reports three people dead, and three people injured, including one in absolute emergency. Present at the time of the attack, Selma Akkaya, a Kurdish journalist and activist, told AFP that among the victims was “a famous Kurdish singer”.
An investigation was opened for assassination, intentional homicides and aggravated violence. The investigations have for the time being entrusted to the criminal brigade with the 2nd DPJ.
Who is the shooter?
The alleged shooter was already known to the judicial services. This 69-year-old retired train driver of French nationality had recently been released from prison, confirmed Laure Beccuau, the Paris public prosecutor. According to The Parisian, he was released on 12 December. He is suspected of having attacked a migrant camp with a saber in the Bercy district, in December 2021. 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.
Laure Beccuau, who does not favor the terrorist track, also mentioned another homicide attempt dating back to 2016, “facts in Seine-Saint-Denis, where he would have recently been tried, would have been sentenced, but following of the conviction an appeal would have been lodged by the prosecution”. “The defendant, who could be arrested, is injured, especially in the face,” said the public prosecutor of Paris. “As for the racist motives of the facts [de vendredi]these reasons 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.
How does the political class react?
Traveling in the north of the country, the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin indicated on Twitter that he was returning to Paris “following the dramatic shooting which took place this morning”. “All my thoughts are with the loved ones of the victims,” he continued. Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne described the shooting as a “heinous act”, expressing her “thoughts” and her “full support for the victims and their loved ones”. “Gratitude to the police officers of the police headquarters who arrested the alleged perpetrator” and “to the Paris firefighters engaged”, continued the head of government in a message on Twitter.
“Stupor and emotion after the shooting in the heart of Paris,” wrote Marine Le Pen on Twitter. “Thank you to the police for their rapid and decisive intervention. Our thoughts go out to the families of loved ones hit by this terrible tragedy, ”continued the head of the National Rally. As for the rebels, they described this shooting as an “attack” or a “terrorist” act.