Gunman shoots three dead

A gunman has opened fire in central Paris France , killing three people and wounding four others.

Witnesses said the attacker targeted a Kurdish community centre and restaurant and prosecutors said they would look into a possible racist motive.

A suspect aged 69 was quickly arrested and it soon emerged he was freed from custody recently.

Authorities appealed for people to avoid the area in Strasbourg-Saint Denis in the 10th district of Paris.

There is no confirmed motive for the shooting, but Paris Prosecutor Laure Beccuau confirmed that that the suspect had just been released, a year after he had attacked tents at a migrant camp in Paris with a sword.

Local Mayor Alexandra Cordebard said the suspect was also wounded in the shooting and that three places had come under fire: the Kurdish community centre, a restaurant and a hairdresser. Two people were shot in the salon.

"We saw an old white man enter, then start shooting in the Kurdish cultural centre, then he went to the hairdresser's next door," restaurant worker Romain told AFP.

"It's total panic, we've locked ourselves in," one shopkeeper said.

The witness said she had heard seven or eight bursts of gunfire. Two of those wounded in the shooting are said to be in a critical condition and two others were seriously injured.