Riots broke out in Paris following a deadly shooting at a Kurdish Cultural Centre on Friday morning, with Kurdish demonstrators clashing with police.
French police used tear gas and other methods to try to disperse a mob of Kurds that turned out in the wake of a shooting that has left three dead and several others injured.
The suspected shooter, identified only as a 69-year-old William M., was reportedly previously arrested on charges of attacking a migrant camp with a sabre.
The newspaper Le Parisien claimed that he had just been released from prison on December 12th.
Though the paper noted that the demonstrations following the shooting were initially peaceful, things took a turn for the worse upon the arrival of France’s Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin.
While addressing journalists and investigating the scene, the gathered crowd began to throw projectiles towards the member of Emmanual Macron’s government after being held back by security forces, who used tear gas to push back demonstrators from the Interior Minister.
Speaking on the shooting, Darmanin told reporters that “it is not certain that the killer who wanted to murder these people… did so specifically for the Kurds,” even if “manifestly his motivations were an attack on foreigners”.
A Le Parisen reporter on the ground for the protest turned riot said: “A group of people charge the police and launch projectiles. The hitherto peaceful demonstration is degenerating.”
“It doesn’t calm down at all, on the contrary, the police are cornered in a small street and the group of demonstrators is on Faubourg-Saint-Denis road, they have much more space, it’s very hot,” the reporter added two hours later.
A police source speaking to the broadcaster BFM TV said that members of the Kurdish community then began attacking police, throwing stones, pieces of wood, road signs and even bicycle wheels as the scene descended into chaos.
Though a motive for the shooting has yet to be made public, the Paris prosecutor has said that they have not ruled out a racial element to the attack.
As previously mentioned, the suspected shooter, William M. was arrested last year for attacking a migrant camp with a sword in December of last year, wounding two men.
French President Emmanuel Macron said of the attack: “The Kurds of France have been the target of a heinous attack in the heart of Paris. Thoughts to the victims, to the people who are struggling to live, to their families and loved ones. Recognition to our law enforcement for their courage and composure.”
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