Three Kurdish refugees have been identified as the victims of a gun attack allegedly carried out by a ‘far-Right racist fanatic’ in Paris.
Emine Kara, leader of the Kurdish women’s movement in France, was identified. Recalled that she was refused asylum in the country earlier this year.
This infuriated Kurdish nationalists, who accused the French authorities of not doing enough to protect her.
Mir Perwer, a popular Kurdish singer exiled in France, was also gunned down, as was Abdullah Kizil, another dissident.
All of the victims were identified by the European Kurdish Democratic Societies Congress, based in Belgium.
A spokesman described them as ‘those who fell as martyrs in the attack on the Kurdish Cultural Centre in Paris’.
Rioting broke out after William M. – a retired train driver aged 69 – went on the rampage in the 10th arrondissement on Friday morning just days after being bailed from prison where he was awaiting trial for allegedly trying to murder two Sudanese refugees.
Mir Perwer, a popular Kurdish singer exiled in France, was also gunned down, as was Abdullah Kizil, another dissident.All of the victims were identified by the European Kurdish Democratic Societies Congress, based in Belgium.A spokesman described them as ‘those who fell as martyrs in the attack on the Kurdish Cultural Centre in Paris’.
This time he was said to be targeting the Kurdish community, and after he murdered three and severely wounded three others, Kurds were involved in disturbances in the area.
‘Large crowds of Kurds gathered in the hours after the shooting, and turned their anger on the police,’ said an investigating source.
‘When Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin arrived at the scene, hundreds of protesters started throwing whatever they could find at officers, while lighting fires.
‘The riot police responded with baton charges and tear gas, making for very ugly scenes.’
Graphic pictures from the area surrounding the Ahmet-Kaya Kurdish Cultural Centre showed officers dragging their colleagues from the riots as protesters collapsed and tear gas filled the air.
Earlier in the day, William M. arrived in the area ‘armed with a gun and deliberately targeted an area full of immigrants, including recent arrivals sleeping rough,’ said the investigating source.
‘He threatened people in a hairdresser, a restaurant, and people close to the Ahmet-Kaya Kurdish cultural centre. He seemed intent on killing as many people as he could.’
Pictures from outside the salon showed the suspect in the same khaki coloured shirt, dark trousers and light sneakers, being dragged away by police officers.
Some seven shots were heard close to noon, as people fled in panic from an area close to the Eurostar railway hub at the Gare du Nord.
Three victims died from their wounds, before police arrived and injured the killer in the face. He was overpowered and arrested inside a hairdressers.
