French President Emmanuel Macron denounced a “heinous attack” that “targeted the Kurds of France” and, at his request, the Paris police chief will receive Kurdish community leaders today.
Authorities are continuing their investigations today to determine what led a 69-year-old man, who was already on trial for a racist attack, to open fire near a Kurdish cultural center in Paris on Friday, killing three people. their lives and three others to be injured.
French President Emmanuel Macron has denounced a “heinous attack” which “targeted the Kurds of France” and, at his request, the Paris police chief will receive those responsible today Kurdish community.
These latter have also announced a demonstration for noon in Paris.
The incident it happened on rue Angiem, at the height of a Kurdish cultural center, in a commercial area that is the center of Kurdish community life in the French capital.
The shooter, who had previously committed gun violence, was arrested a short time later and is in custody.
No information has been leaked about the profile of the victims, who were not “known to the French services”, Interior Minister Géral Darmanen said.
Authorities have launched an investigation into murders, attempted murders, armed violence and violation of weapons laws.
The perpetrator, who suffered a slight facial injury during his arrest, is known to the court.
He was sentenced in June to 12 months in prison for gun violence he committed in 2016 – a conviction he has appealed.
This man was also charged in December 2021 with premeditated and racially motivated gun violence for events on December 8, 2021. In this second case, he is suspected of stabbing migrants in a camp in Paris and that he destroyed their tents, a police source had stated at the time.
After a year in pretrial detention, he was released on December 12, as required by law, and placed under judicial supervision, Paris prosecutor Laure Bequio announced.
Racial motivation?
In 2017, the man was given a six-month suspended prison sentence for illegal gun possession.
On the contrary, he is unknown to the internal security (DGSI) and intelligence services and “had no record as a far-right”, according to Géral Darmanen.
According to the first elements of the investigation, a racist motive is one of the scenarios being investigated, but it must be confirmed mainly by the statements of the suspect during his detention.
The scenario of a terrorist attack has been ruled out at this stage of the investigation, according to the prosecutor.
Yesterday morning “he didn’t say anything while leaving (…) He’s crazy. He’s crazy,” the suspect’s 90-year-old father told AFP, describing him as “reticent” and “withdrawn”.
“He wanted to attack foreigners” and “obviously acted alone,” Darmanin said, adding that he frequented a shooting range.
“It is not certain that the killer, who wanted to kill these people (…) did it specifically for the Kurds,” he underlined, while rumors of a “political” attack were spreading in the Kurdish community.
The “racist motivations of the acts” will “obviously form part of the investigations,” prosecutor Lor Becchio also said during a press conference.
“Nothing allows at this stage to confirm any connection of this man with any extremist ideological movement,” she clarified last night in her statement.
The shocked Kurdish community called it a “terrorist” act and blamed Turkey. Violent clashes broke out yesterday with law enforcement and one person was arrested, a police source told AFP.
Abroad, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called the shooting a “horrific act” and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken offered his “sincere condolences”.
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With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
