Kurds protest killing of 3 community members in Paris

Paris, Dec 24: Kurds of France on Friday (local time) took to the streets in Paris to protest the shooting of three people at a cultural centre and Kurdish cafe. The suspected attacker, a 69-year-old French man with a long criminal record, has been arrested.

 

 

 

 

A gunman shot dead three people at a Kurdish cultural centre and nearby Kurdish cafe in central Paris, prompting violent protests in nearby streets as night fell. Police had to fire teargas to quell protesters at the site of the deadly Paris shooting. All three people killed inside and near the Kurdish Cultural Center Ahmet-Kaya on Rue d'Enghien were Kurds, the centre's lawyer confirmed to CNN.

 

 

 

 

 

He was not part of any far-right groups monitored by the police, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told journalists at the scene. "He (the suspect) clearly wanted to take it out on foreigners," Darmanin said. "For now, no elements can allow us to know if the attack is specifically targeting Kurdish people," he added. Clashes with dozens of protesters, mostly from the Kurdish diaspora, broke out during Darmanin's visit to the site of the attack, reported CNN.

 

While the shooting incident has not been designated a terror attack, Paris Prosecutor Laure Beccuau said earlier that investigators are not ruling out possible "racist motivations" behind the shooting. "When it comes to racist motivations, of course, these elements are part of the investigation that was just launched," Beccuau said. French President Emmanuel Macron deplored the 'heinous attack' in which "the Kurds of France have been the target", in a Twitter post. "The Kurds of France have been the target of a heinous attack in the heart of Paris. My thoughts are to the victims, to the people who are fighting to live, to their families and loved ones. My gratitude to our law enforcement forces for their courage and calmness," Macron said.