The man of colour in his early 30s has an extensive criminal history, including police records for drug trafficking and murder committed by an organised gang, according to press reports. The attacker also injured a woman, a member of the hospital staff, but the investigation found no evidence of connection between the two victims so far.

In the early afternoon on 12 April, a brutal settling of scores took place outside the Henry-Dunant Hospital, currrently serving as a vaccination centre, in the 16th district in Paris. Eyewitnesses said a man wearing a hoodie and a pair of jeans shot a young man of colour at point-blank range. One witness said the gunman first fired two shots, and then another four.

The victim was having coffee when he was shot. According to eyewitness reports, the man in the hoodie kept firing even when his victim was lying on the ground. The gunman severely injured one of the hospital s female security guards, who was rushed to hospital and has remained in intensive care.

Francis Spiner, the mayor of the 16th district, told the press that the prosecutor s office had launched an investigation into the matter. He added that the target was not the inoculation centre and that it appears more likely that the attacker wanted to settle an old score with the victim. The hospital s security guard seems to have been wounded by a stray bullet, and there are no signs of any connection between the two victims. It appears that the deceased young man was the sole target of the attack.

The fact that the victim – a man of colour born in 1987 who was known to police and had been investigated for drug trafficking as well as murder committed by a criminal gang – appears to corroborate authorities conclusion, according to the weekly Le Point newspaper. Witnesses say the gunman, after shooting his young victim in cold blood, lowered his weapon and simply walked away. He had a scooter without a license plate parked nearby; he got on and drove off. Authorities have launched a search operation to locate the perpetrator, but it remains unclear whether police have managed to identify the attacker.