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Attack on the Rue d'Enghien in Paris: the police are investigating a 69-year-old
Photo: SARAH MEYSSONNIER / REUTERS
According to Mayor Anne Hidalgo, the fatal shots in Paris were the work of a right-wing extremist.
"The Kurdish community, and through it all Parisians, have been targeted by these killings, committed by a far-right activist," Hidalgo wrote on Twitter.
“The Kurds, wherever they live, must be able to live in peace and security.
More than ever, Paris stands by her side in these dark hours.«
Report: Attacked refugee camps with a saber
According to media reports, the police already knew the suspect.
The broadcaster France Info reports, citing police circles, that the man is known for two attempted killings.
The newspaper "Le Parisien" writes that the Frenchman attacked a refugee camp with a saber last year and injured several people there.
The man only got out of prison in mid-December and was under judicial supervision.
The perpetrator fired several shots in the tenth arrondissement of Paris on Friday.
According to district mayor Alexandra Cordebard, he shot in a Kurdish community center and a restaurant and hairdressing salon across the street.
Three people died in the attack and others were injured.
One seriously injured is among the victims.
Security forces arrested a 69-year-old Frenchman.
Prosecutors opened investigations into premeditated homicide and aggravated violence.
Prosecutor Laure Beccuau said the investigation would determine whether racist motives played a role.
The shooting on Rue d'Enghien had sparked panic in the street lined with small shops and cafes in the busy 10th arrondissement.
"It was Kurds who were targeted," Juan-Golan Eliberg, an artist who works at the Kurdish Cultural Center, told Reuters.
It's a "terrible drama," District Mayor Alexandra Cordebard said.
France's Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin is expected at the scene of the attack later in the afternoon.
He wrote on Twitter that his thoughts are with the victims' families.
Mayor Hidalgo paid tribute to the victims and their families.
A psychological support service will be set up in the 10th arrondissement town hall.
muk/AFP/dpa/Reuters