Three people were tragically killed and three more seriously injured in a shooting in central Paris on Friday, according to police and prosecutors.
The suspect, a man in his 60s, was arrested and taken into custody.
The shooter’s motives were unclear: two of the four wounded were left in critical condition on Enghien Street in the fashionable 10th arrondissement.
“The shooter was arrested with a weapon. The danger has passed,” a police source told AFP. “At this stage, his motives remain unknown.”
Shots fired shortly before noon (1100 GMT) caused panic in the area, which is full of shops, restaurants and bars.
Resident Emmanuel Bougenant told AFP that the man was arrested at the barbershop.
“There were people in a panic, shouting to the police and pointing to the salon: “he is there, he is there, come in,” he explained.
He said he saw two people on the floor of the saloon with wounds on their legs.
A store owner in the area told AFP, on condition of anonymity, that she heard seven or eight shots, saying “it was total panic. We locked ourselves in.”
The Paris prosecutor’s office said an investigation had been opened and that “a man between the ages of 60 and 70 has been arrested and is in custody.”
“His identity is in the process of being verified,” the department added.
News of the shooting made the city nervous, which has been repeatedly attacked by terrorist groups since 2015.
Paris is also the scene of occasional outbreaks of gang violence.
