A lone gunman went on a shooting rampage in central Paris shortly before midday local time today, killing three and wounding four people, before being apprehended by police.
According to emergency services officials, two of those injured in the attack are in critical condition.
Attack witnesses report that the gunman fired a total of seven or eight shots, sowing mayhem in the street.
According to local news sources, the attack happened near a local Kurdish cultural center in the 10th arrondissement. The neighborhood is also home to numerous shops, restaurants and bars.
The reports have been confirmed by the mayor of the Paris‘ 10th district, Alexandra Cordebard.
Local police said that a 69-year-old suspect had been arrested and the firearm allegedly used in the attack has been recovered by the law enforcement officers.
Paris’ public prosecutor’s office said that the attacker’s motives are unclear for the time being and that it has launched a murder investigation.
According to some reports, citing police sources, the suspect has had a long criminal record, going back to 2016, with most recently arrested last December, when he reportedly stormed a migrant camp in Paris with a sword.
The suspect has been held in detention after the migrant camp attack on attempted murder charge, but was eventually released from custody on December 12.
Following the attack, members of Paris’ Kurdish community have gathered outside the cultural center, where today’s attack took place, angrily protesting the shooting. Police had to use tear gas to disperse the protesting crowd.
Speaking at the scene of the shooting, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said that it was “not certain … that the gunman was specifically targeting the Kurdish community,” but was rather seeking to attack any “foreigners in general.”
