Paris shooting suspect admits ‘pathological’ hatred of foreigners
- The 69-year-old Frenchman, who is accused of killing three Kurds, is back in police custody after spending nearly a day in a psychiatric facility
- The suspect initially targeted a Paris suburb with a large immigrant population, but changed his mind and later headed to the Kurdish centre, a prosecutor says
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Shooting at Paris Kurdish cultural centre kills 3, protesters clash with police
A French man suspected of killing three Kurds in a Paris shooting has confessed to a “pathological” hatred for foreigners, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said on Sunday.
The 69-year-old man was due to appear before a judge on Monday, prosecutors said. The suspect spent nearly a day in a psychiatric facility before being returned to police custody on Sunday afternoon.
Beccuau said in a statement that the suspect was “depressive” and “suicidal” and said he “wanted to kill foreigners” after a burglary in his home in 2016.
The shooting at a Kurdish cultural centre and a nearby hairdressing salon on Friday sparked panic in the city’s bustling 10th district, home to numerous shops and restaurants and a large Kurdish population.
Three others were wounded in the attack but none are in a life-threatening condition, with one now out of hospital, the prosecutor said on Sunday.
The suspect said he initially wanted to kill people in the northern Paris suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis, which has a large immigrant population.