Three dead, at least three others injured in a shooting in the center of Paris

“We saw an old white man come in and then start shooting,” a witness told Agence France-Presse.

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne condemned the shooting as a “heinous act”.

The alleged attacker was known to the authorities, said the public prosecutor Laure Beccuau.

A year ago, the suspect, who was injured in Friday’s shooting and was arrested, was charged with racially motivated violence in a sword attack on a tent encampment housing migrants. Beccuau said the suspect was recently released from prison.

Friday’s shooting took place near two of the city’s main train stations, Gare du Nord and Gare de l’Est, and is home to a large Kurdish community.

“I ask all residents not to go to the neighborhood [and] those who are at home to stay there for the time being,” Cordebard said.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said the city was creating a crisis center to provide advice to those affected by the attack.