Two Iraqi-Kurdish migrants and two security guards have been killed by a gunman in the Dunkirk area of northern France, French media reported, quoting security sources.
A man, who turned himself in at a nearby police station in Ghyvelde, east of Dunkirk, said he had also killed a fifth person at a farm house in Wormhout earlier that day, according to French media.
The other killings happened at Loon-Plage, which is home to refugee camps, and near to Calais and the Strait of Dover where thousands of migrants cross the Channel from mainland Europe each year.
“The suspect made his way to Loon-Plage in his car, where he targeted two Iraqi Kurd migrants he saw by the side of the road,” a source close to the investigation said.
“He is thought to have got out of his car, to shoot them both in their heads, leaving them no chance of survival.”
The security guards were said to have worked for Eamus Cork Security.
There was a large emergency service presence at the scene. Authorities found three more weapons in the 22-year-old French man's car, media reported.
Representatives for the Interior Ministry and the Justice Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. It was not immediately clear what the motives were for the shooting.
Dunkirk Mayor Patrice Vergriete said the motive “remains unknown”. He said the “individual coldly murdered several people”.
The local prefecture said an investigation had been opened into the deaths. Police said the detained man was not known to them and did not have a criminal record.
Wormhout Mayor David Calcoen said: “I am stunned by what has happened. I cannot understand how this could have happened.”
Five European countries, including France and the UK, last week announced plans to tackle smuggling gangs online by challenging their recruitment efforts on social media.
The anti-smuggling plan calls for Iraqi-Kurdish smuggling gangs to face justice and have their tactics exposed by sharing intelligence across borders.
They also agreed to work with countries in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Western Balkans to run what they called “awareness-raising communication campaigns to deter irregular migrants from paying [gangs] to facilitate high-risk irregular journeys across routes into Europe”.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has named securing Britain's borders as one of the three “foundations” of his Labour government.
