There are clashes in the center of Paris between police and protesters after the shooting that, this Friday morning, resulted in the death of three people. Following the shooting, a 69-year-old man was arrested.
It is, according to the French news channel BFM TV, a former railway worker who is already the target of two lawsuits, one related to an assault on a migrant camp and another for a case of violence, but the height of the confrontations in the streets of Paris were the statements of the French Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, who went to the place. He said the gunman “obviously wanted to go after the foreigners.”
In addition, the official expressed his “very sincere condolences” to the “Kurdish community, which has suffered many losses” and praised the actions of the police, who came to the scene “in less than 15 minutes.”
Among the protesters there is a conviction that the gunman wanted to directly hit the Kurdish population of the French capital, especially since the shots occurred in the vicinity of a Kurdish cultural center, but the minister does not confirm this intention. The French newspaper Le Monda reports that during Gérald Darmanin’s speech, some members of the Kurdish community showed anger and indignation.
A journalist from the same French newspaper who is at the scene reported on Twitter that nails, stones and screws were thrown at the police. Some of them were even injured and the police had to fire tear gas.
However, the minister admitted that the shooter’s exact motivations are not known at this time, but conceded that he would not have acted alone and further clarified that the man is not being referred to as far-right. The detainee was a shooter in a sports club and had declared many weapons.
In the streets of this area of Paris there has already been an increase in the number of operatives. Meanwhile, the Kurdish Democratic Council, an organization that brings together 24 Kurdish diaspora organizations across the country, has called a demonstration for Saturday. A protest scheduled for 12:00 local time at Praça da República.
On the official Twitter account, this council states that “three Kurdish militants” were killed and even speaks of a terrorist attack. Violence has been growing in the last hour and the authorities are asking people in the area to stay home.
French President Emmanuel Macron also reacted to the shooting, stressing that the Kurds were the target of an “appalling attack” in the heart of Paris.
“My thoughts are with the victims, the people fighting to live, their families and loved ones. Thanks to our police forces for their courage and composure,” Macron wrote on Twitter.
The shooting took place on Rue de Enghien, in the 10th arrondissement of Paris, near the Ahmet-Kaya Kurdish Cultural Center, in the center of the French capital.
When the shooter was detained by the police, the French security forces managed to seize his weapon.
“Seven to eight shots were fired in the street, there was total panic, we were locked inside. [da loja]”A shopkeeper in a neighboring building told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on condition of anonymity.
However, an investigation was opened based on the charges of murder, intentional homicide and aggravated violence. The investigations, for the moment, have been entrusted to the criminal brigade of the Parisian judicial police, according to the Paris Prosecutor’s Office.
Source: TSF
