Paris gunman ’targeting foreigners’ kills three people

More details have emerged about the gunman who killed at least three people in Paris, and sparked riots. See the pictures.

More details have emerged about the gunman who killed at least three people in Paris, and sparked riots after he was “targeting foreigners”.

Witnesses told AFP that the gunman, a white Frenchman with a history of racist violence, initially targeted the Kurdish cultural centre before entering a hairdressing salon where he was arrested.

The alleged shooter, named as William M. in the French media, is a gun enthusiast with a history of weapons offences who had been released on bail earlier this month.

The retired train driver was convicted for armed violence in 2016 by a court in the multicultural Seine-Saint-Denis suburb of Paris, but appealed.

A year later he was convicted for illegally possessing a firearm. Last year, he was charged with racist violence after allegedly stabbing migrants and slashing their tents with a sword in a park in eastern Paris.

“He is crazy, he’s an idiot,” his father was quoted as saying by the M6 television channel.

Almost a dozen police have been injured in the mayhem that followed, that has seen barricades set alight and missiles hurled at police.

Police fired tear gas into the crowds to try and break them up and stop the violence that began soon after the shooting at a Kurdish community centre.

Injured police officers have been pulled from the riot by colleagues, while protesters have also been helped away by those in the crowd.

French riot police officers run to disperse protesters during a clash following a statement by French Interior Minister at the site where several shots were fired along rue d'Enghien in the 10th arrondissement, in Paris. Picture: AFP

The riot left police and protesters injured. Picture: AFP

Protesters stand in front of riot police officers after the Paris shooting. Picture: AFP

The alleged shooter, a 69-year-old retired train driver, “was clearly targeting foreigners”, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told reporters at the scene.

Mr Darmanin added however that it was “not certain” that the man was aiming to kill “Kurds in particular”.

“We don’t yet know his exact motives,” Mr Darmanin said.

The suspect is in custody after being released from jail just days earlier for attacking two migrants with a sabre-type sword.

Asked whether any of the victims in Friday’s shooting had links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a Kurdish organisation designated as terrorist by Ankara, Mr Darmanin said they appeared not to have been known to France’s security services.

The violence has left at least 11 police officers with injuries. Picture: AFP

Protesters clashes with French riot police officers following a statement by French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin at the site where several shots were fired along rue d'Enghien in the 10th arrondissement, in Paris on December 23, 2022. Picture: Thomas Samson / AFP.

Protesters clashed with police after three people were killed and three injured in a shooting in central Paris on December 23, 2022, police and prosecutors said. Picture: Thomas Samson / AFP.

In dramatic scenes, the crowd attempted to break a barricade that was set up to protect Darmanin.

A shopkeeper close to the scene of the shooting said she heard seven or eight shots.

“It was total panic,” she told the Sun.

“We locked ourselves inside.”

A source close to the scene said: “A pensioner got into the building and appeared to start shooting at random.

“Police were called and arrested him, while also confiscating his weapon. The authorities are now advising people to avoid the area.”

A hero cop was able to wrestle the gun from the alleged killer’s hands in the hair salon to stop the horror rampage.

Barricades were set on fire during the riot. Picture: AFP

Demonstrators reportedly threw objects at police in response, set rubbish bins on fire and erected barricades.

Several cars parked in the area as well as police vehicles had their windows smashed as protesters threw bricks.

Some demonstrators were chanting slogans in support of the PKK, the European Union and others.

“Martyrs don’t die,” some shouted.

Earlier, several demonstrators had tried to get past police to reach the cultural centre.

The centre, called Centre Ahmet Kaya, is used by a charity that organises concerts and exhibitions, and helps the Kurdish diaspora in the Paris region.

Paris’s Mayor Anne Hidalgo has branded the alleged attacker an “extreme right-wing activist” on Twitter.

“The Kurdish community and, through it, all Parisians, was targeted by these assassinations committed by an extreme right-wing activist,” she tweeted. “Kurds wherever they reside must be able to live in peace and security.

“More than ever, Paris is by their side in these dark hours.”

– With AFP

Originally published as Paris gunman ’targeting foreigners’ kills three people