PARIS: Two people, aged 74 and 78, were seriously injured in the shooting at 1420 GMT on Monday as they tried to prevent the attacker from setting fire to the mosque in Bayonne in southwest France, police said, adding the suspected gunman has been arrested.The man was arrested near his home after the incident that also involved a small explosion, presumably from a petrol can set on fire near the place of worship on Monday afternoon.
The 84-year old man who fired shots and hurt two people at the Bayonne mosque in southern France on Monday had far-right connections, according to a police source.
The shooter also set a car on fire while fleeing the area.“The suspected assailant was arrested by national police … my thoughts are with the victims and their family,” Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said on his Twitter account.A police source said that the 84-year-old suspect had far-right connections. A separate source familiar with the situation said the man had been a candidate for Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party in 2015.National Rally’s Le Pen condemned the attack on the mosque.“The attack … goes against all the values of our movement,” she said.The police source said a handgun was found in the suspect’s car.
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