Three people have been killed and several others injured after the shooting in the center of Paris this afternoon. The condition of one of the injured is said to be critical. All three killed were Kurds, reports Reuters. The shooting took place at a Kurdish cultural center, but it is not yet known if the center was the target of the shooting. Photo: JULIETTE JABKHIRO / Reuters The police are investigating whether there is a racist motive behind the attack, writes the newspaper Le Parisien. The country’s president, Emmanuel Macron, calls the incident a “horrific attack against Kurds in France”, writes Reuters. – The authorities have asked the police to strengthen protection at gathering places for the Kurdish community as a result of the attack, says Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin. Riots in Paris after the shooting. Photo: THOMAS SAMSON / AFP Riots According to Darmanin, the attack was “clearly aimed at foreigners”. At the same time as the Minister of the Interior spoke to the press, there were violent protests in Paris. Demonstrators allegedly threw stones at the police, who responded with tear gas. Several officers from the police are said to be injured. Pictures from the scene show streets full of protesters, rubbish containers and mopeds lying on end in the streets. Previously accused A 69-year-old man has been arrested. According to the AFP news agency, he has previously been charged with racist violence. The man is said to be a French citizen and referred to as “William M.” in the French media. The police are said to have obtained the firearm he used during the arrest. According to the Minister of the Interior, it currently appears that the perpetrator acted alone. The suspect is known to the police from the past. In December last year, he attacked two migrants with a knife, the prosecution says. The police are talking to people at the roadblocks after the incident. Photo: SARAH MEYSSONNIER / Reuters The 69-year-old is said to have also been involved in an attempted murder in 2016. According to Le Parisien, he was released on parole on 12 December and was prohibited from possessing weapons. – Stands by the Kurds A witness, a shop owner in the area, tells AFP that he heard seven or eight shots. – There was total panic, we locked ourselves in, he says. Mayor Anne Hidalgo writes on Twitter that everyone in Paris stands side by side with the Kurds in the city. – The Kurds have been attacked by a militant from the extreme right. Wherever they live, they should be allowed to live in peace and security. Now more than ever, Paris stands by their side in this dark time, writes Hidalgo.
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