Emma Poole 11 mins ago

According to the authorities, the 69-year-old suspect, who is said to have killed three people, was released from custody due to health reasons.

A French man suspected of killing three people in an attack on a Kurdish cultural center in Paris has been transferred to a psychiatric ward, according to prosecutors.

As the public prosecutor announced on Saturday, the 69-year-old suspect was released on the same day for health reasons and taken to a police psychiatric facility.

The shots fired at the cultural center and a nearby hair salon on Friday sparked panic in the city’s busy 10th district, which is home to several shops and restaurants and a large Kurdish population.

Three others were injured in the attack, which investigators said the suspect blamed on being “racist,” a source close to the case told AFP.

Paris prosecutors said a doctor examined the suspect’s medical condition on Saturday afternoon and found him “incompatible with the detention measure”.

The man’s detention has been lifted and he has been placed in a police psychiatric unit awaiting appearance before an investigating magistrate while the investigation continues, the prosecutor added.

Earlier on Saturday, Paris prosecutors extended the suspect’s detention by 24 hours and added an additional charge of acting with a “racist motive”.

He has already been held on suspicion of murder, attempted murder, armed violence and gun violations.

protests in Paris

The suspect, who has a history of racist violence, initially targeted the Kurdish Cultural Center before entering a hair salon, where he was arrested.

Of the three wounded, one was hospitalized for intensive care and two were treated for serious injuries.

According to the Kurdish Democratic Council in France (CDK-F), one woman and two men were among the dead, AFP said.

The woman killed, Emine Kara, was a leader of the Kurdish women’s movement in France, said the organization’s spokesman, Agit Polat. Her application for political asylum in France had been rejected.

According to the CDK-F, the other victims were Abdulrahman Kizil and Mir Perwer.

Thousands of Kurds gathered at the Place de la Republique in central Paris on Saturday afternoon, where they observed a minute’s silence for the three killed and those “who died for freedom”.

Police fired tear gas after clashes ensued and protesters threw projectiles at officers. AFP said at least four cars were overturned and one was burned.

The capital’s police chief, Laurent Nunez, told BFM television that 31 officers and one protester were injured in the riots and 11 people were arrested “mainly for vandalism”.

Over 1,000 people held a similar rally in the southern port city of Marseille, which ended in clashes with officers and setting fire to at least two police cars.

Source : http://www.aljazeera.com