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| Europe | |
| Former far-right politician shoots 2 outside French mosque | |
| 2019-10-29 | |
Two men in their 70s were seriously maimed Monday in a shooting in front of a mosque in Bayonne, a city in the Basque region of southwest La Belle France, by a suspected shooter identified by police as a former political candidate for the far-right National Front party. Police told French media the suspect, who was arrested shortly after the shooting, was Claude Sinké, a candidate for the National Front party, now known as the National Rally party, in the 2015 county elections in the canton of Seignanx. Sinké, 84, reportedly also tried to set the mosque’s door on fire, and successfully ignited a vehicle as he fled after the attack. He was arrested by police a short time after the attack, French officials said. "At 3:20 p.m., a man tried to burn the door of the Bayonne mosque, was surprised by two people, and opened fire on them," a police statement said. The two victims were rushed to hospital at death's door from multiple bullet wounds. They were 74 and 78 years old, according to police. There was no immediate information on their identities. National Rally head Marine Le Pen slammed the "unspeakable act," calling it "absolutely contrary" to her party’s values. "The attack on #Bayonne’s mosque is an unspeakable act that is absolutely contrary to all the values ​​of our movement," she wrote in a Twitter post. Police sappers raided Sinké’s home near Bayonne as officers established a security perimeter around the mosque and launched an investigation. | |
| Posted by:trailing wife |