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Several people have been injured and killed in central Paris. What we know about the fact.
The incident: In Paris, according to official reports, several people were injured and killed by gunfire. The latest reports from the authorities speak of three fatalities of Kurdish origin and other injured people. The shots were fired in the 10th arrondissement: the crime took place on Rue d’Enghien in a busy shopping area. There, shots were fired in a Kurdish community center and in a restaurant and hairdressing salon across the street.
As the public prosecutor in Paris announced, they are launching investigations into intentional killing and serious violence. “The perpetrator was arrested with his weapon, the danger has been averted,” the police said.
The suspect: First, the newspaper “Le Parisien” reported on Friday afternoon, citing police circles, that a man had been arrested. These confirmed the arrest of a 69-year-old who is now in police custody. The perpetrator apparently acted alone.
So far, the police have confirmed his French citizenship. In addition, the suspect is known to the authorities for two attempted homicides in 2016 and 2021. The newspaper “Le Parisien” wrote that he attacked a migrant camp in the 12th arrondissement with a saber last year and injured several people there. The man only got out of prison in mid-December and was under judicial supervision. Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau confirmed this.
“The killer, who was himself in a relative emergency, was taken to the hospital,” said the mayor of the 10th arrondissement, Alexandra Cordebard, on site. However, the motive is still unclear. Prosecutors will investigate possible racist motives behind the attack.
The reactions: “The shots that were fired in the street caused a total panic and we stayed locked inside,” a businesswoman from a neighboring building told AFP.
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. French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne described the deadly shooting as a “disgusting act” and thanked the emergency services for their work.
Several politicians condemned a “terrorist” and “racist” attack on Twitter. «Almost exactly ten years ago, three Kurdish activists were murdered in the middle of Paris. That’s enough,” wrote Jean-Luc Mélenchon from the party “La France insoumise”.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo also commemorated the victims and their families. “The Kurdish community, and through it all Parisians, have been targeted by these killings, committed by a far-right activist,” Hidalgo wrote on Twitter on Friday. A psychological support service will be set up in the 10th arrondissement town hall.