The case is updated.

Three people have been killed and several others injured after the shooting in the center of Paris this afternoon.

All three killed were Kurds, reports Reuters.

The condition of one of the injured is said to be critical.

The shooting took place at a Kurdish cultural center, but it is not yet known if the center was the target of the shooting.

The police are investigating whether there is a racist motive behind the attack, writes the newspaper Le Parisien .

69-year-old previously charged

A 69-year-old man has been arrested. According to the AFP news agency, he has previously been charged with racist violence.

The man is said to be a French citizen and referred to as “William M.” in the French media. The police are said to have obtained the firearm he used during the arrest.

The suspect is known to the police from the past. On 8 December last year, he attacked two migrants with a knife, also in Paris, the prosecution says.

The 69-year-old is said to have also been involved in an attempted murder in 2016, according to the AFP news agency.

According to Le Parisien, he was released on parole on December 12 and was prohibited from possessing weapons.

Alexandra Cordebard, the mayor of the 10th arrondissement, says the investigation will try to uncover the motive.

– The shooting happened at a Kurdish cultural center in Rue d’Enghien as well as a restaurant facing the center and a hairdressing salon, she told reporters on Friday.

– Stands by the Kurds’ side

A witness, a shop owner in the area, told AFP that he heard seven or eight shots.

– There was total panic, we locked ourselves in, he says.

French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin will visit the scene today.

Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, writes on Twitter that all of Paris stands side by side with the Kurds in the city.

– The Kurds have been attacked by a militant from the extreme right. Wherever they live, they should be allowed to live in peace and security. Now more than ever, Paris stands by their side in this dark time, writes Hidalgo.