On Friday (December 23rd), a suspect currently identified as William M. (69) walked into a Kurdish cultural center in Central Paris, armed with an old US Army issue Colt M1911 handgun, two-or-three magazines and a box of 25 additional cartridges. The gunman shot and killed three people in the Ahmet Kaya Kurdish cultural center, run by The Kurdish Democratic Council in France (CDF-K). Following the shooting, the gunman fled the scene and entered a hair salon where he was apprehended by the police.
So far the reports indicate that the suspect had only recently been released from prison earlier in the month. William M., a retired train driver for France’s national railway company SNCF, is believed to have had a history of illegal weapons charges and racially motivated attacks against migrants. The suspect is believed to have slashed several tents in the migrant camp at Bercy park in eastern Paris in December of last year. Paris Prosecutor Laure Beccuau stated that the man suffered from a “pathological” hatred of foreigners motivated by a 2016 break-in at his home. Preceding his arrest, William M. was transferred to a psychiatric facility where he is currently being held.
Following the shooting, President Emmanuel Macron’s left-wing opponents were quick to pounce on the administration’s inability to take the threat of far-right groups seriously, senior hard-left MP Clementine Autain saying “The far-right appears to have struck again. With deadly consequences,” on Twitter. However both the French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin and Prosecutor Laure Beccuau claim that there is currently no known link between the suspect and “ultra-right” groups.
Following the shooting violence erupted on the streets of Paris, protestors smashing windows, rolling cars and breaking windows as the members of the local Kurdish community took to the streets to call for justice. Violence renewed on Saturday after hundreds of Kurds gathered peacefully in the Place de la République. Demonstrators clashed with police, injuring 31 officers and 1 protester according to police statements. 11 protestors have been arrested following the demonstrations. The march was originally scheduled to start at the Place de la République and had been authorized by the Paris Police department. Things turned violent shortly after the march began with police firing tear gas into the crowd. Kurdish Democratic Council in France (CDKF) spokesperson Berivan Firat said that the march was canceled soon after the violence broke out to “avoid damages at the Place de la République and people getting injured, adding that from now on the group will no longer be held responsible for the actions of protesters.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, stated Friday that France will ensure the rights of the Kurds who wanted to protest and vowed to increase policing around Kurdish sites.
