A 69-year-old man has been arrested for killing three and wounding four at a Kurdish cultural center in central Paris. Although ruled a terrorist plot, the attack is considered to have possible racist grounds.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told reporters at the scene: “He (the suspect) clearly wanted to take it out on foreigners.”
“For now, no element can allow us to know if the attack is specifically directed at the Kurds,” he added.
The attacker, identified as “William M” by French media, is a retired train driver and has a criminal record with a history of racist violence and weapons offences.
Last year he was arrested for stabbing at least two migrants in a Paris camp with a sword, police and judicial sources told AFP.
In June 2016, he was involved in gun violence and was subsequently convicted by a court in the northeastern suburb of Seine-Saint.
Prosecutor Laure Beccau reported that the attack on Friday was motivated by racism and investigations will be carried out with this aspect.
government under fire
Meanwhile, French authorities are being questioned as to why the suspect, who has a history of violence, was released on parole.
Opposition parties accuse President Emmanuel Macron of not taking threats from the far right seriously enough.
“The far right seems to have struck again. With deadly consequences,” far-left lawmaker Clementine Autain wrote on Twitter. “When will those at the head of state start taking this terrorist threat seriously?”
According to media reports, the suspect was released on December 12, while he awaits trial in the attack on the migrant store.
The family disowns him
The family of the attacker who spoke to the M6 television channel described him as a crazy, idiot.
“He’s crazy, he’s an idiot,” his father said, according to an audio recording posted online. “He is a taciturn person who doesn’t live like normal people.”
According to the newspaper 20 Minutes, William was born in March 1953 in Montreuil, a suburb east of Paris.
The newspaper, citing an anonymous police officer, reported that during the attacker’s arrest he said that he “did not like Kurds.”
(With agency contributions)
