‘Paris attacker has a history of violence against immigrants’

Officials said Friday that the gunman who opened fire on a crowd of people in Paris had a history of violence against immigrants.

Paris Prosecutor Laurie Picao said the suspected racist motives behind the attack would be investigated.

Visiting the site of the shooting, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said the gunman had not previously been known by intelligence officials to belong to far-right or extremist groups.

Darmanin said the suspect “obviously acted alone.” He added that he would testify shortly after his treatment in the hospital.

Darmanin told reporters that the man was “targeting foreigners,” adding that it was “not certain” that he aimed to kill “the Kurds in particular.”

Darmanin said an official investigation would help shed light on the incident.

There is no clear link to Turkey

Despite allegations from pro-PKK circles, there does not appear to be any evidence that Friday’s shooting was politically motivated or linked to Turkey, Agence France-Presse reported.

The French authorities were very cautious about suggesting a motive, with early suspicions of racism.

Paris prosecutor Laurie Picao, who visited the scene earlier, said the suspect had carried out two attacks in the past, including killing at least two migrants with a sword at a camp in Paris last year, police and judicial sources told AFP. Press.

The man is believed to have cut down several tents in a migrant camp in Bercy Park, in eastern Paris, on December 8, 2021.

In June 2016, a court in the northeastern suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis found him guilty of armed violence, and he has appealed.

A year later, he was given a six-month suspended prison sentence for illegal possession of firearms, judicial sources told AFP.

Bikwao added that an investigation has been opened into murders, attempted murders and deliberate acts of armed violence.

Meanwhile, the suspect, identified as William M., was a train driver and retired from the French state-owned Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer français (SNCF) and had been staying with relatives since his release on judicial control on December 12, sources said. December.

6 policemen were injured in clashes with supporters of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

PKK sympathizers clashed with French security forces on Friday, wounding at least six police officers after a fatal shooting.

Police responded with tear gas to acts of violence by supporters of the terrorist group.

The violence in the region began after French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin visited the site of a shooting on Enghien Street in central Paris.

Some pro-PKK protesters were seen throwing objects at police and setting fire to rubbish bins, while several vehicles were damaged during the unrest.

Local media reported that a 69-year-old gunman in Paris opened fire earlier, killing at least three people and wounding three others.

He was placed under arrest and an investigation was opened.