Seven-year-old girl among eight injured as masked gunmen open fire at French mosque
A seven-year-old girl has been injured after masked men opened fire outside a mosque in the south of France.
Eight were injured when two hooded men, who were reportedly armed with a handgun and rifle, opened fire as crowds were leaving the Arrahma mosque in Avignon at around 10.30pm. Four people were injured at the scene, while a family of four in an apartment around 50 metres away suffered shrapnel wounds. Among the injured was a seven-year-old girl.
Two of the eight injured were taken to hospital, La Provence reported Police said they were not treating the incident as a terror attack. Local magistrate Laure Chabaud said the mosque did not appear to be the target of the shooting, French media reported. Local media said the perpetrators were driving a black Renault Clio and fled the scene.
The driver, a 43-year-old Armenian who suffered from schizophrenia, hit barriers and pillars outside the mosque with his 4x4 without causing any injuries before crashing into a traffic island. According to a source close to the investigation, the suspect had made 'confused remarks in relation' to a string of jihadist attacks that have struck France, killing 239 people since 2015.
Following a van attack against worshippers leaving Finsbury Park Mosque in London on June 19 which left one dead and 11 injured, France's Muslim community has also felt threatened.
Some Muslim officials have described the Paris incident as an attack and called on the authorities to 'strengthen protection of places of worship'.