3 dead after Kurds targeted in possible racist attack in Paris

PARIS — Three people are dead after shots were fired at a Kurdish community center in central Paris in what could possibly be a racist attack, prosecutors said on Friday.

The man arrested after the fatal shooting in Paris was known to authorities, according to media reports. France Info radio, citing police sources, reported on Friday that the 69-year-old suspect was known for two prior attempted killings.

Le Parisien newspaper wrote that the Frenchman attacked a migrant camp with a saber last year, injuring several people. The man had come out of prison only in mid-December and was under judicial supervision.

The man allegedly fired shots in the city’s 10th District on Friday. Three people died in the attack and others were injured.

According to the district mayor, Alexandra Cordebard, the man fired at a Kurdish community center as well as a restaurant and a hair salon across the street.

The shootings were the act of a far-right extremist, according to Mayor Anne Hidalgo. “The Kurdish community and through them all Parisians have been targeted by these murders committed by a far-right activist,” Hidalgo wrote on Twitter on Friday.

“The Kurds, wherever they live, must be able to live in peace and security. More than ever, Paris stands with them in these dark hours,” Hidalgo tweeted.

France now wants to protect Kurdish meeting places. Guards should be posted throughout the country at Kurdish community gathering places, France’s Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said on Friday. Turkish diplomatic missions in the country should also be protected to prevent counterattacks.

On Friday, a man had fired shots at a Kurdish community center as well as a nearby restaurant and a hair salon. Three people died and three were injured. The suspected perpetrator was arrested; he also was injured.

“He obviously wanted to attack foreigners,” whether Kurds in particular was unclear, the minister said on Friday. “It’s not clear if this person is politically involved however, even if his motivation was obviously to attack foreigners.”

The motive was unknown, but a right-wing background to the crime was being investigated, he said.

The 69-year-old suspected French perpetrator was not registered as a right-wing extremist with the security authorities, Darmanin said.

“At the moment I’m speaking, I can’t say that he was known for right-wing extremist acts, even though the findings and the procedure will of course make us check that in particular in the coming hours.”

The man had acted alone and, as a marksman, had several weapons at his disposal.

Darmanin had gone to the scene of the attack in the 10th District of Paris on Friday afternoon. Numerous members of the Kurdish community had also gathered there.

During the attack, the gunman shot two people in front of a Kurdish cultural center, according to the interior minister, and another person was killed in a nearby restaurant. Three other people were injured, one of them critically. None of the victims was known to the French police authorities.

The shots also hit the branch of the Democratic Kurdish Council in France (CDK-F), an umbrella organization of 24 Kurdish associations. According to the CDK-F, the three fatalities were Kurdish activists, as were the three injured. The organization spoke of a “terrorist attack,” which occurred after numerous Turkish threats.

Turkey has long been fighting Kurdish independence efforts pushed by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and other Kurdish organizations.

The CDK-F called for a protest meeting at the site of the attack. It also said that a vigil for the victims should be held at the Kurdish center itself.

During Darmanin’s press statement, loud shouts could be heard again and again. Television images showed the police using tear gas. Darmanin said that France wanted to ensure that Kurds could demonstrate safely.

According to French media reports, demonstrators threw things at the police. France Info reported one arrest and five injured police officers.

The prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation into intentional homicide. There was initially no information on the shooter’s motive.

Laure Beccuau, the public prosecutor, said the investigation was looking into whether racist motives played a role.

Mayor Hidalgo also paid tribute to the victims and their families and said that a psychological support service would be set up in the 10th District’s town hall.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the shooting was a deliberate attack on Kurds.

“The Kurds in France were the target of a vile attack in the middle of Paris,” Macron wrote on Twitter adding that his thoughts were with the victims and their families.

Following the deadly attack in Paris, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has expressed his sympathy.

“A terrible act that has shaken Paris and France today,” the Social Democrat politician tweeted in German and French on Friday evening. “My thoughts are with the victims and their families.”

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also wrote on Twitter in reference to the incident: “Hate must never win.”