Three Dead, Four Injured in Paris Gun Attack

Three people were killed and four were wounded in a gun attack near a Kurdish cultural center in Paris on Friday.

Le Parisien newspaper said a 69-year-old man opened fire on a group of people at the Ahmet-Kaya Kurdish cultural center on rue d’Enghien in the French capital’s 10th arrondissement.

Armed police guarded a security cordon and several ambulances were at the scene, live television images showed.

“A gun attack has taken place. Thank you to the security forces for their swift action,” tweeted deputy Mayor Emmanuel Gregoire. “Thoughts for the victims and those who witnessed this drama.”

Gunman in Paris attack arrested

Paris prosecutors told the public broadcaster, France Télévisions, that police had arrested the alleged gunman and seized his weapon soon after the shooting. The suspect, a French national, was a retired train conductor, according to reports.

There is no confirmed motive for the shooting, but Paris Prosecutor Laure Beccuau confirmed that that the suspect had just been released, a year after he had attacked tents at a migrant camp in Paris with a sword.

An investigation has been opened for murder, voluntary manslaughter and aggravated violence, a spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office was quoted as saying.

One witness, a shopkeeper in the street, told Agence France-Presse that seven or eight shots had been fired, causing chaos. “It was just complete panic – everyone locked themselves in,” the woman said.