A gunman who opened fire at a Kurdish cultural centre in central Paris killed three people and wounded several others on Friday.
The attack shortly before noon caused panic in the 10th district of the French capital, an area of shops and restaurants that is home to a large Kurdish population.
The man, a 69-year-old retired train driver, “was clearly targeting foreigners”, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said, adding however that it was “not certain” that the man was aiming to kill “Kurds in particular”.
One person was in a critical condition and two others are in hospital with less serious injuries.
The attacker, who was recently released from prison, was wounded in the face, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said.
Authorities were investigating racism as a motive for the attack, she said. An investigation has been opened into murder, homicide and aggravated violence.
Protests began in the surrounding streets hours later, with police firing tear gas in response.
The arrested man was suspected of attacking at least two migrants with a knife in a Paris camp on December 8, last year, Ms Beccuau said.
She said the question of whether Friday's attack was motivated by racism “will form part of our investigations which are starting now with the deployment of large numbers of people,” she said. Anti-terrorism prosecutors are in contact with investigators.
Witnesses described how the gunman first attacked the Kurdish cultural centre before entering a nearby hairdressing salon where he was arrested by police.
“The shooting took place at a Kurdish community centre situated in the Rue d'Enghien, as well as at a restaurant facing the Kurdish centre and a hairdresser,” said district mayor Alexandra Cordebard.
The Kurdish Centre Ahmet Kaya is used by a charity that works to integrate the Kurdish population in the Paris region.
Some members of the Kurdish centre could be seen weeping and hugging each other for comfort on Friday afternoon.
“It's starting again. You aren't protecting us. We're being killed!” one of them cried to nearby police.
French President Emmanuel Macron denounced as “an odious attack” a shooting at a Kurdish community centre in Paris that left three people dead and wounded three others on Friday.
“The Kurds in France have been the target of an odious attack in the heart of Paris,” he wrote on Twitter.
Protests broke out later on Friday, with large crowds of Kurds clashing with police.
Security forces used tear gas to disperse crowds that had gathered on Rue du Faubourg and in the southern city of Marseille.
Video on social media showed fires as police moved to clear the streets surrounding the scene of the crime, which had been under lockdown for much of Friday morning.
At least 11 police officers have been injured in clashes, Le Monde reported.
The attacker's motives remain unclear, but his identity and target raised suspicions that the shooting could have been racially motivated.
Mr Darmanin said he would be returning to Paris following the incident and would visit the scene. He has repeatedly warned about the danger of violent far-right groups in France.
The French government asked police to reinforce protection of Kurdish community sites in the country, Mr Darmanin said.
Mathilde Panot, parliamentary head of the left-wing France Unbowed political party, blamed the far-right, calling the shooting a “racist attack”.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo tweeted: “The Kurdish community and, through it, all Parisians, was targeted by these assassinations committed by an extreme right-wing activist. Kurds wherever they reside must be able to live in peace and security. More than ever, Paris is by their side in these dark times.”
She also thanked police “for their decisive intervention this morning during the terrible attack in the 10th. Thoughts to the victims and their families. We are on their side.”
In January 2013, three Kurdish female activists were shot at a cultural centre in the 10th district.
France was hit by a string of high-profile attacks by Islamist extremists in 2015 and 2016 and remains on alert for terrorism-related violence.
Witnesses reported seeing the gunman in Friday's attack shoot “blindly into the street”.
Others told the AFP news agency they heard “seven or eight shots” and that it was “total panic”.
Another person, speaking to BFM TV, said the suspected gunman opened fire in silence.
The shooting came at a time when Paris is buzzing with activity before the Christmas weekend. Police told people to stay away from the area where the attack took place.
Witnesses told AFP that the gunman first fired on the Kurdish cultural centre.
“We saw an old white man enter, then start shooting in the Kurdish cultural centre, then he went to the hairdresser's next door,” Romain, who works in a nearby restaurant, told AFP.
Resident Emmanuel Boujenan told AFP that the man had been arrested in the hair salon.
“There were people panicking, shouting to the police and pointing to the salon, 'he's in there, he's in there, go in',” he said.
He said he saw two people on the floor of the salon with leg wounds.
A shopkeeper in the area said she heard seven or eight shots. “It was total panic. We locked ourselves inside,” she said.
Rachida Dati, a local mayor, tweeted: “I extend my most sincere sympathy to the victims of the terrible shooting that took place this morning on Rue d'Enghien, in the heart of #Paris. I salute the speed and efficiency of the police, without which the toll could have been much heavier.”
David Belliard, a deputy mayor, pledged solidarity with the Kurdish community.
“Thoughts to the families today bereaved or affected by this terrible shooting. All my solidarity with the Kurdish community. Thank you to the police and firefighters for their intervention,” he tweeted.
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key findings
- Over a period of seven years, a team of scientists analysed dietary data from 50,000 North American adults.
- Eating one or two meals a day was associated with a relative decrease in BMI, compared with three meals. Snacks count as a meal. Likewise, participants who ate more than three meals a day experienced an increase in BMI: the more meals a day, the greater the increase.
- People who ate breakfast experienced a relative decrease in their BMI compared with “breakfast-skippers”.
- Those who turned the eating day on its head to make breakfast the biggest meal of the day, did even better.
- But scrapping dinner altogether gave the best results. The study found that the BMI of subjects who had a long overnight fast (of 18 hours or more) decreased when compared even with those who had a medium overnight fast, of between 12 and 17 hours.
THE%20SPECS
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The five pillars of Islam
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20NOTHING%20PHONE%20(2a)
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
What to watch out for:
Algae, waste coffee grounds and orange peels will be used in the pavilion's walls and gangways
The hulls of three ships will be used for the roof
The hulls will painted to make the largest Italian tricolour in the country’s history
Several pillars more than 20 metres high will support the structure
Roughly 15 tonnes of steel will be used
Quick%20facts
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
England Test squad
Joe Root (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Alastair Cook, Sam Curran, Keaton Jennings, Dawid Malan, Jamie Porter, Adil Rashid, Ben Stokes.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More coverage from the Future Forum
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma
When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
The five pillars of Islam
THE BIO
Age: 30
Favourite book: The Power of Habit
Favourite quote: "The world is full of good people, if you cannot find one, be one"
Favourite exercise: The snatch
Favourite colour: Blue
The biog
Age: 19
Profession: medical student at UAE university
Favourite book: The Ocean at The End of The Lane by Neil Gaiman
Role model: Parents, followed by Fazza (Shiekh Hamdan bin Mohammed)
Favourite poet: Edger Allen Poe
The Details
Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5
MATCH SCHEDULE
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tuesday, April 24 (10.45pm)
Liverpool v Roma
Wednesday, April 25
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid (10.45pm)
Europa League semi-final, first leg
Thursday, April 26
Arsenal v Atletico Madrid (11.05pm)
Marseille v Salzburg (11.05pm)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to register as a donor
1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention
2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants
3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register.
4) The campaign uses the hashtag #donate_hope
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs: 2018 Range Rover Velar R-Dynamic HSE
Price, base / as tested: Dh263,235 / Dh420,000
Engine: 3.0-litre supercharged V6
Power 375hp @ 6,500rpm
Torque: 450Nm @ 3,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 9.4L / 100kms
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
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What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
WRESTLING HIGHLIGHTS
More on animal trafficking
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Company%20Profile
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
New schools in Dubai
