Serial Killer Fears Grow In France After Paris Deaths

Fears are growing that a serial killer may be operating in the French capital, Paris, following four similar murders since November.

The killings were all carried out in and around Paris, each with the same gun. The latest was on Thursday.
Interior Minister Claude Gueant vowed all would be done to solve the case.

The gunman fled on a motorbike each time, like in the recent killings around Toulouse, but no motive for the latest killings has been determined.

Mr Gueant, speaking on French radio, Europe 1, on Friday, said he was "putting every effort into finding out who is behind this".

All victims were shot with a 7.65mm calibre weapon, a police source told Agence France-Presse news agency.

The latest was a 47-year-old widow and mother of Algerian origin, who was shot in the foyer of her apartment block in the Grande-Borne district of Grigny, south of Paris.

"Everyone is in shock," one of her neighbours told AFP. "She didn't feel threatened. She's a normal person, simple, no history."

The killing followed three others:

• 27 November: Laboratory assistant, 35, in Grigny
• 22 February: Man, 52, neighbour of first victim, also in Grigny
• 19 March: Man, 81, shot in Ris-Orangis suburb

A man reportedly turned himself in for the first killing, but then retracted his confession and the other killings took place while he was in custody.

Many in France are still coming to terms with the killings by self-styled al-Qaeda gunman Mohamed Merah in and around Toulouse.

He was shot dead by police last month in the city, following attacks in which he murdered seven people, including three children.

The killings have prompted two high-profile police operations targeting Islamist suspects across the nation.

Source: BBC News    

Posted in: Europe