A gunman who opened fire in central Paris, killing three people and wounding three others, has been arrested.
The attacker targeted a Kurdish cultural centre and shot members of the local community. A possible racist motive is being investigated.
A suspect, aged 69, was quickly arrested and it soon emerged he had been freed from prison recently.
Clashes later broke out between police and a group who had gathered at the scene in the aftermath of the attack.
Footage showed people starting fires in the middle of the street and smashing car windows, with officers in riot gear responding by throwing tear gas.
The unrest came after a man, described by witnesses as tall, white and elderly, shot dead two men and a woman on Rue d’Enghien in the 10th district of Paris.
Of the three people injured, one was said to be in a critical condition and the others were receiving treatment for serious injuries.
There is no confirmed motive for the shooting, but Paris Prosecutor Laure Beccuau said the suspect had previously been charged with racist violence.
That incident – in which he attacked tents at a migrant camp in Paris with a sword – took place at Bercy on 8 December 2021. It was not clear why he had recently been released.
French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, who earlier travelled to the scene, said there was currently no known link between the suspect and “ultra-right” groups.
(BBC News)
