A man shot dead three people and injured four others in central Paris. Two of them were in mortal danger, the public prosecutor initially announced on Friday. The newspaper “Le Figaro” now reports three dead and at least three injured, one of whom is life-threatening – in the afternoon the Paris public prosecutor’s office then confirmed that there was a third fatality. A person who was shot may have succumbed to their injuries.

“There were seven or eight shots, there is panic,” said an eyewitness to the AFP news agency. “I saw two police officers go into a hairdressing salon where two people were lying on the ground, their legs were injured,” said resident Emmanuel Boujenan.

Security forces arrested a 69-year-old man. According to French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, the motive of the perpetrator is still unclear. “He obviously wanted to attack foreigners,” said the minister on Friday. “It is not clear if this person is politically involved in any way, although their motivation was obviously an attack on foreigners.” The motive is unknown, but a right background to the crime is being examined.

The alleged 69-year-old French perpetrator was not recorded as a right-wing extremist by 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 if the findings and the procedure will of course allow us to examine this in the coming hours.” The man acted alone and had a number of weapons as a marksman.

According to the Interior Minister, the attacker shot dead two people in front of a Kurdish cultural center during the attack, and there was another fatality in a nearby restaurant. Three other people were injured, one critically. None of the victims were known to the French police authorities.

According to the daily newspaper “Le Figaro”, the suspect is said to have been the victim of a burglary in 2016, in which he attacked the intruder and wounded him with a knife. He was tried for the case before prosecutors appealed, with no further details known about the case at this time. The second case is said to have been heard on December 8, 2021. The arrested man is said to have cut several tents in a migrant camp in Paris with a saber. He was charged with racially motivated violence with weapons and intent.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo spoke of an act by 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 on Friday. “The Kurds, wherever they live, must be able to live in peace and security. More than ever, Paris stands by them in these dark hours.”

The public prosecutor’s office is investigating for murder and serious violence. The judicial police is initially responsible, not the terror prosecutor’s office.

Note: The article will be continuously updated due to the situation.

Other sources: “BFMTV”, “Le Figaro”, “Le Parisien”.