Here’s what we know about the Paris attacker
Road cordoned off following a shooting in the 10th arrondissement in Paris on December 23
A 69-year-old was arrested for killing three and injuring four at a Kurdish cultural centre in central Paris. Though ruled as a terrorist plot, the attack is being viewed with possible racist underpinnings.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told journalists at the scene, “He (the suspect) clearly wanted to take it out on foreigners.”
“For now, no elements can allow us to know if the attack is specifically targeting Kurdish people,” 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 with a sword in a Pariscamp, police and judicial sources told AFP.
In June 2016, he was involved in armed violence and was subsequently convicted by a court in the northeastern suburb of Seine-Saint.
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Prosecutor Laure Beccuau informed that Friday’s attack was motivated by racism and the investigations will be undertaken with that aspect.
Govt under fire
Meanwhile, questions are being raised against the French authorities as to why the suspect, who has a history of violence, was let out on parole.
The opposition parties are accusing President Emmanuel Macron of failing to take far-right threats seriously enough.
"The far-right appears to have struck again. With deadly consequences," senior hard-left MP Clementine Autain wrote on Twitter. "When will those at the head of the state start taking this terror threat seriously?"
According to media reports, the suspect was released from custody on December 12, while pending trial waits over the migrant tent attack.
Family disowns him
The attacker’s family who spoke to the M6 TV channel described him as a |crazy, idiot”.
"He is crazy, he's an idiot," said his father, according to an audio recording posted online. "He is a taciturn person who doesn't live like normal people do."
According to the 20 Minutes newspaper, William was born in March 1953 in Montreuil, an eastern suburb of Paris
The paper, quoting an anonymous police officer, reported that during the arrest of the attacker he said he “didn't like Kurds".
(With inputs from agencies)
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