French police probe mosque shooting of men in their 70s
Print Edition
French police were yesterday investigating the motives of an 84-year-old man with links to France鈥檚 main far-right party who attacked a mosque and shot two men in their 70s, seriously wounding both.
The attack in Bayonne on Monday afternoon, in a neighborhood described by its residents as peaceful, shocked Muslims and the community at large, prompting firm condemnation from the government as well as from far-right leader Marine Le Pen.
It struck just hours after President Emmanuel Macron had urged Muslims to step up the fight against what he called Islamic 鈥渟eparatism鈥 in secular France.
The victims, aged 74 and 78, one of whom was hit in the neck and the other in the chest, were in a stable condition in hospital yesterday.
The shooter, identified as Claude Sinke, had stood as a candidate for Le Pen鈥檚 National Rally in 2015 regional elections but the party has since distanced itself from him.
Neighbors described him as a difficult man. Mike Bresson, deputy mayor of Sinke鈥檚 home village, Saint-Martin-de-Seignanx, said he was known for his 鈥渧erbal excesses.鈥
He said Sinke behaved 鈥渓ike someone with a psychological disturbance. He didn鈥檛 like people from the left, nor the center, and few of those on the right.鈥
According to the Sud-Ouest local newspaper, Sinke had addressed an angry letter last week to Bayonne authorities and prosecutors, seeking to bring charges against Macron for 鈥渘on-application of human rights.鈥
The newspaper published only an excerpt of the letter which it said contained 鈥渄iscriminatory, xenophobic and defamatory鈥 statements.
Authorities said Sinke attacked the mosque on Monday as two men were preparing it for afternoon prayers. The man 鈥渁pproached the building by car and threw an incendiary device against the side door of the mosque.鈥
鈥淭he two people came out. He shot at them.鈥
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 娌狪CP璇侊細娌狪CP澶05050403鍙-1
- |
- 浜掕仈缃戞柊闂讳俊鎭湇鍔¤鍙瘉锛31120180004
- |
- 缃戠粶瑙嗗惉璁稿彲璇侊細0909346
- |
- 骞挎挱鐢佃鑺傜洰鍒朵綔璁稿彲璇侊細娌瓧绗354鍙
- |
- 澧炲肩數淇′笟鍔＄粡钀ヨ鍙瘉锛氭勃B2-20120012
Copyright 漏 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
