A man has shot and killed three people, and injured three more, at a Kurdish cultural centre in the 10th arrondissement of Paris.
As well as the Kurdish cultural centre, a hairdresser and a restaurant were attacked according to the arrondissement’s mayor Alexandra Cordebard. One of the injured victims is believed to be in a critical condition.
According to 9News, the man charged with the shooting had previously been charged for attacking people living in tents at a migrant camp last year. He was released earlier in December.
Investigators are considering a potential racist motive for the shooting.
France’s Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said the suspect was clearly targeting foreigners. However, according to the BBC, Darmanin also said that at the moment there’s no known links between the suspect and any “ultra-right” groups.
One witness told the BBC they were walking down the street when they heard gunshots.
“We turned around and saw people running left and right,” they said.
“And then, five or six minutes later, because we know people who work at the hair salon, we went in and we saw that they had arrested the guy.”
The publication reported that following the shooting, there were clashes between police and people who gathered after the attack. Fires were reportedly started in the middle of the street, while police officers threw tear gas in response.
In the wake of the shooting activist Murat Roni told the Associated Press, “we do not feel at all protected in Paris”.
“We don’t feel defended by the French justice system. It’s clearly the Kurds who were targeted.”
French president Emmanuel Macron tweeted a statement in response to the attack.
“The Kurds of France were the target of an odious attack in the heart of Paris,” he said.
“Thoughts for the victims, those who are fighting to survive, to their families and loved ones.”
