Three days after the deadly shots in Paris, an investigation was officially launched against the alleged perpetrator. He must also be in custody, as several French media reported on Monday. The preliminary investigation could ultimately lead to a criminal trial if the investigators see sufficient evidence against the accused. Otherwise they could also discontinue the procedure.
The 69-year-old is reportedly accused of, among other things, racially motivated murder and attempted murder and illegal possession of weapons. According to the public prosecutor's office, the suspect had confessed to a "pathological hatred of foreigners". He was initially admitted to the psychiatric ward on Christmas Eve.
Racist attack at community center
On Friday, a man fired multiple shots outside a Kurdish community center and at a nearby hair salon, killing three people. Three other people were injured in the attack in the tenth arrondissement of Paris. Five of the victims have Turkish citizenship, one victim is French. According to the Kurdish umbrella organization Kurdish Democratic Council in France (CDK-F), all the victims are Kurdish activists.
The man, the prosecutor said, had "always wanted to kill migrants or foreigners" since a burglary six years ago. On the morning of the crime, the man had driven to a Parisian suburb heavily influenced by immigrants "to commit murders of foreigners". Then he abandoned his plan because there were only a few people on site and he could not easily reload his gun because of his clothes.
The suspect was recently released from custody
The man then shot a woman and two men in front of the Kurdish cultural center near his parents' house in downtown Paris. Two victims died instantly. The third person escaped to a nearby Kurdish restaurant, but died there. The attacker injured three people in a hair salon. One of those attacked overpowered and disarmed the man.
The suspect was targeting migrants in general and attacked people he did not know at the Kurdish community center, according to the prosecutor. He said he had something against the Kurds because "they took prisoners instead of killing them in their fight against (the terrorist militia) the Islamic State." The man was arrested with a gun and almost 40 rounds of ammunition. According to the information, he wanted to use all the ammunition and kill himself with the last shot.
The suspect was only released from custody a few days ago. Last year he attacked a migrant camp and injured several people. According to media reports, in 2016 he attacked a man with a knife.
Several hundred people gathered in the French capital on Monday to commemorate the victims. At the memorial march, they demanded "truth and justice" and reportedly chanted in Kurdish: "Our martyrs will not die."
