Three people were killed and others injured when a gunman opened fire on them in central Paris.
The incident occurred near a Kurdish cultural centre, not far from the Orient railway station.
Police immediately arrested the suspect, a 69-year-old man.
Police have asked people to avoid the area, in the 10th administrative district, Strasbourg-Saint-Denis.
The motive for the shooting is not yet known, but the prosecutor, Laure Boccio, confirmed that the suspect had just been released, a year after he attacked tents hosting migrants in Paris, armed with a sword. This took place on 8 December 2021 in the Bercy area and it is not known why he was released.
The district mayor, Alexandra Kordibar, said the suspect was also wounded and that he fired at three locations: the Kurdish Social Center, a restaurant and a hair salon, where two people were killed.
One of the restaurant’s employees told the French news agency: “We saw an old white man enter, then he started shooting in the Kurdish center, then went to the hairdresser’s room next door.”
And the French news agency quoted one of the shopkeepers as saying: “Everyone was in a panic, so we closed our doors.”
The witness said he heard seven or eight shots. The motive for the shooting is not yet known.
Two of the wounded are said to be in serious condition, while the other two are seriously injured.
Police arrested the suspect without resistance and recovered the two weapons he used in the shooting. The prosecutor said he had opened a criminal investigation. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo praised the efficiency of the police, who were able to quickly arrest the suspect.
This incident comes nearly 10 years after the killing of three Kurdish women in Paris in January 2013.
There are numerous restaurants and shops on the way to the Chateaudou metro station, as well as the cultural centre. The district mayor, Alexandra Codibar, described the street as lively.
Another witness said the street was filled with emergency services, waiting to leave.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said he was on his way to Paris to visit the site of the “tragic shooting”, adding his thoughts were with the families and friends of the victims.
