Thousands gather after deadly Paris shooting

PARIS — Members of France's anti-racism groups and the Kurdish community joined together in mourning on Saturday in Paris after three people were killed in an attack at a Kurdish cultural center.

Thousands gathered on Saturday at the Place de la Republique in eastern Paris to mourn the victims.

Though the gathering was largely peaceful, some youths threw projectiles and set a few cars and garbage bins on fire, and police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd.

Most demonstrators were ethnic Kurds of varying generations who came together to mourn the three fellow Kurds who were killed, including a Kurdish singer who came to France as a refugee.

Demonstrator Yunus Cicek wiped his tears away as he spoke of the victims and his fears. "We are not protected here. Even though I have political refugee status, I don't feel safe," he said. "Maybe next time, it will be me."

The Paris prosecutor's office has confirmed that a woman and two men were killed in Friday morning's shooting in central Paris.

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said the "exact motives of the killer" were yet unknown, but the suspect "obviously acted alone".

Darmanin, who arrived at the scene on Friday afternoon, said while the gunman "was clearly targeting foreigners", it was "not certain" that the man was aiming to kill "Kurds in particular".

The suspected attacker was wounded and detained, and transferred on Saturday to psychiatric care, the prosecutor's office said.

The 69-year-old Parisian had been charged with attacking a migrant camp last year and released from jail earlier this month. For Friday's shooting, he is facing potential charges of murder and attempted murder with a racist motive, the prosecutor's office said.

'Heinous attack'

French President Emmanuel Macron described the shooting as a "heinous attack" in the heart of Paris.

The suspect opened fire on Friday morning in three places on a street of the 10th arrondissement: a Kurdish community center, a restaurant and a hair salon.

Apart from the three killed, three others were injured, one of whom is in critical condition. An investigation was launched immediately after police arrested the suspect at the scene.

Clashes broke out near the shooting scene on Friday afternoon between members of the Kurdish community and the police, with the latter launching tear gas.

France's Interior Ministry reported a 13 percent rise in race-related crimes or other violations in 2021 over 2019, after an 11 percent rise from 2018 to 2019. The ministry did not include 2020 in its statistics because of successive pandemic lockdowns that year.

Agencies - Xinhua