AT least two people are dead and several critically injured following a mass shooting in Paris.
Emergency services have been scrambled to a community centre close to Paris's Gare du Nord station after a gunman opened fire.
The killer is reported to be a 69-year-old retired train driver.
At least two people have been killed and four injured, according to AFP.
Two of the injured are in a critical condition, according to Le Monde.
A shopkeeper close to the scene of the shooting said she heard seven or eight shots.
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"It was total panic," she said. "We locked ourselves inside."
A source close to the scene said: "A pensioner got into the building and appeared to start shooting at random.
"Police were called and arrested him, while also confiscating his weapon. The authorities are now advising people to avoid the area."
The shooting took place at a Kurdish cultural centre on Rue d'Enghien in the 10th Arrondissement of the French capital.
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It is just minutes from Gare du Nord station, where millions of Brits arrive every year on the Eurostar from Kings Cross.
Police have urged people to stay away from the scene after gunshots rang out just after midday local time (11am GMT).
The suspected gunman has been arrested.
An investigating detective said: "He is a French national who was with SNCF [the French national railway company] for many years.
"He was arrested at the scene and is cooperating with the authorities. He is now under investigation for murder and aggravated violence."
The motive for the shooting isn't known at this stage.
However, French television network BFM TV has claimed that the suspected killer was previously arrested in December last year for attacking two migrants at a camp in Paris with a sword.
It reports that the alleged gunman was arrested a year ago on suspicion of racist violence using weapons after the assault against two Sudanese men in a migrant camp in Paris's 12th arrondissement.
Friday's killing coincides with the 10th anniversary of the murder of three Kurdish female politicians in Paris.
A police source said: "The danger is averted, the motivations are for the moment unknown."
An eyewitness told Medya Haber TV: "A person who came to the front of the association opened fire on those in front of the association."
Paris's Mayor Anne Hidalgo has thanked cops for their quick response.
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"Thank you to the police for their decisive intervention this morning during the terrible attack in the 10th," she tweeted. "Thoughts to the victims and their families. We are on their side."
She added that counselling services were being offered in the 10th Arrondissement.
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