French authorities have arrested a man suspected of shooting and seriously wounding two men in their 70s outside a mosque in southwest France, police have said.
An 84-year-old man opened fire when the two victims, both in their 70’s, found him trying to set fire to a mosque in Bayonne, according to the police statement.
The victims were brought to a nearby hospital with serious injuries, while the suspected shooter, identified as Claude Sinke, was later arrested near his home. Sinke also tried to set fire to a car outside the Mosque.
French President Emmanuel Macron has strongly condemned what he described as an “odious” attack on the mosque.
“The Republic will never tolerate hatred,” he said. “Everything will be done to punish the perpetrators and protect our compatriots of the Muslim faith.”
The motive for the attack was not immediately clear.
The mosque was cordoned off for investigations and a bomb squad was sent to Sinke’s home in Saint-Martin-de-Seignanx, a town of 5,000 people some 16km (10 miles) from Bayonne.
A team of psychologists was put together to provide care for witnesses of the incident.
