What do we know about the racist attack that left 3 dead in Paris?
On Friday a gunman - who later described himself to police as 'a racist' - opened fire in Paris, killing three people and wounding three others. Here's what we know about the latest attack to hit the French capital.
What happened?
On Friday, December 23rd, shortly before noon, a 69-year-old man stood in front of a Kurdish cultural centre on rue d'Enghien in Paris' trendy 10th arrondissement and opened fire, before moving to a neighbouring hair salon where he continued shooting.
Two people died at the scene and a third died later in hospital, while three others were injured.
The gunman was tackled and subdued by customers at the hair salon, suffering facial injuries, before police arrived and arrested him.
After spending a night in a psychiatric unit, he was brought before a judge on Monday and charged with murder and attempted murder on the grounds of race, nation, ethnicity or religion, as well as firearms offences, and remanded in custody.
Who were the victims?
The shooter was 'clearly targeting foreigners' said interior minister Gérald Darmanin, and all three victims were Kurds who were living in Paris.
Emine Kara was a leader of the Kurdish women's movement in France, according to tributes posted online.
#EmineKara, (#EvînGoyî), est l'une des trois victimes de l'attentat terroriste ctre le #CDKF. Elle était responsable du mvt des femmes kurdes, ce même mvt à l'origine du slogan #JinJiyanAzadî. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/rk5ihXxBNa
— Conseil Démocratique Kurde en France (@Le_CDKF) December 24, 2022
The two men killed were named as Mir Perwar, a Kurdish artist who had refugee status after being prosecuted for his art in Turkey, and Abdulrahman Kizil, a regular attendee of the Kurdish cultural centre.
Who is the suspect?
The suspect has been named in French media as William M - following the usual convention of providing only a first name and initial during the early part of the legal process.
He is a 69-year-old retired train driver and French citizen with previous convictions for violence.
He was convicted of an attempted murder in the multi-cultural area of Seine-Saint-Denis in 2016, but was later freed on appeal. In 2021 he was convicted of attacking a migrant camp with a sword, slashing at tents as people slept and injuring two people.
French media reported that he had been freed on bail over the migrant camp attack a short time before the shooting.
Does he have any political or foreign links?
William M told investigators that his motives were racist and he wanted to kill foreigners.
However, investigators are still trying to establish whether he had links to any far-right groups - initial searches of his phone and computer did not reveal "any links with extremist ideology", according to the Paris prosecutor.
Questions for the authorities
The investigation continues into William M, his previous activities and any political links but already the case has thrown up some big questions for authorities.
The main question, which led to demonstrations and some clashes with police immediately after the murders, is why he had been released on bail after the attack at the migrant camp.
There are also questions around the weapon that he used, since his previous convictions should have disqualified him from owning a firearm. He had reportedly purchased it from a member of a shooting club he frequented, but it had never been declared or handed in to authorities after his previous convictions.
As the investigation continues, police will also be focusing on whether William M had any links to extremist groups, whether he targeted Kurds in particular or simply 'foreigners' and whether there was a political dimension to his attack on Kurds - a Muslim ethnic group spread across Syria, Turkey, Iraq and Iran.
Far-right threat
France's interior minister Gérald Darmanin has repeatedly warned of the threat from far-right groups in France.
12 members of a far-right group are due to stand trial over a plot to stab Emmanuel Macron in 2018.
More recently, during the France-Morocco World Cup semi final, around 40 people with links to the far-right were arrested after trying to take weapons onto the Champs-Elyées with the apparent intention of attacking Morocco fans.
William M was apparently not being monitored by security services.
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What happened?
On Friday, December 23rd, shortly before noon, a 69-year-old man stood in front of a Kurdish cultural centre on rue d'Enghien in Paris' trendy 10th arrondissement and opened fire, before moving to a neighbouring hair salon where he continued shooting.
Two people died at the scene and a third died later in hospital, while three others were injured.
The gunman was tackled and subdued by customers at the hair salon, suffering facial injuries, before police arrived and arrested him.
After spending a night in a psychiatric unit, he was brought before a judge on Monday and charged with murder and attempted murder on the grounds of race, nation, ethnicity or religion, as well as firearms offences, and remanded in custody.
Who were the victims?
The shooter was 'clearly targeting foreigners' said interior minister Gérald Darmanin, and all three victims were Kurds who were living in Paris.
Emine Kara was a leader of the Kurdish women's movement in France, according to tributes posted online.
#EmineKara, (#EvînGoyî), est l'une des trois victimes de l'attentat terroriste ctre le #CDKF. Elle était responsable du mvt des femmes kurdes, ce même mvt à l'origine du slogan #JinJiyanAzadî. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/rk5ihXxBNa
— Conseil Démocratique Kurde en France (@Le_CDKF) December 24, 2022
The two men killed were named as Mir Perwar, a Kurdish artist who had refugee status after being prosecuted for his art in Turkey, and Abdulrahman Kizil, a regular attendee of the Kurdish cultural centre.
Who is the suspect?
The suspect has been named in French media as William M - following the usual convention of providing only a first name and initial during the early part of the legal process.
He is a 69-year-old retired train driver and French citizen with previous convictions for violence.
He was convicted of an attempted murder in the multi-cultural area of Seine-Saint-Denis in 2016, but was later freed on appeal. In 2021 he was convicted of attacking a migrant camp with a sword, slashing at tents as people slept and injuring two people.
French media reported that he had been freed on bail over the migrant camp attack a short time before the shooting.
Does he have any political or foreign links?
William M told investigators that his motives were racist and he wanted to kill foreigners.
However, investigators are still trying to establish whether he had links to any far-right groups - initial searches of his phone and computer did not reveal "any links with extremist ideology", according to the Paris prosecutor.
Questions for the authorities
The investigation continues into William M, his previous activities and any political links but already the case has thrown up some big questions for authorities.
The main question, which led to demonstrations and some clashes with police immediately after the murders, is why he had been released on bail after the attack at the migrant camp.
There are also questions around the weapon that he used, since his previous convictions should have disqualified him from owning a firearm. He had reportedly purchased it from a member of a shooting club he frequented, but it had never been declared or handed in to authorities after his previous convictions.
As the investigation continues, police will also be focusing on whether William M had any links to extremist groups, whether he targeted Kurds in particular or simply 'foreigners' and whether there was a political dimension to his attack on Kurds - a Muslim ethnic group spread across Syria, Turkey, Iraq and Iran.
Far-right threat
France's interior minister Gérald Darmanin has repeatedly warned of the threat from far-right groups in France.
12 members of a far-right group are due to stand trial over a plot to stab Emmanuel Macron in 2018.
More recently, during the France-Morocco World Cup semi final, around 40 people with links to the far-right were arrested after trying to take weapons onto the Champs-Elyées with the apparent intention of attacking Morocco fans.
William M was apparently not being monitored by security services.
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