French authorities said a 69-year-old man was arrested Friday after he opened fire on a Kurdish community center and other targets in central Paris, killing at least three people.
Three other people were injured in the shooting, one of them seriously, according to the Paris prosecutor’s office, in the attack just before noon on Rue d’Enghien, a narrow street in the 10th arrondissement of the country’s capital. France.
Alexandra Cordebard, mayor of District 10, told reporters that shots were fired at a restaurant and a hair salon as well as at a Kurdish community center and the gunman was taken to hospital after lightly injured.
“We don’t know exactly what his motives were,” she said.
Gérald Darmanin, French interior minister, say on Twitter that the gunman was captured. The prosecutor’s office said the suspect’s identity was still being verified, adding that it had opened a murder investigation.
The Paris district police advised people to avoid the area, citing an ongoing operation.
One witness, who was identified only as Ali, told BFMTV news channel that he was walking down the street when he heard gunfire and turned around.
“We saw people running left and right,” he said. He then walked into a nearby hair salon where three people were injured, he told the news channel.
Emmanuel Grégoire, deputy mayor of Paris, say on Twitter that a “gun attack” had occurred but did not elaborate. “We are talking to the provincial police and the prosecutor’s office to understand what happened,” Grégoire posted.
Anne Hidalgo, mayor of Paris, Thank you police on Twitter for “their decisive response this morning to the horrific attack on the 10th” and expressed condolences to the victims.
Ms. Cordebard said that no specific security measures were in place at or near the Kurdish community center.
“This neighborhood lives in perfect harmony, with a mix of communities living together,” she said.
