Five dead after shooting near Dunkirk

Five people have been killed in shootings in northern France, including near a migrant camp, and a 22-year-old man has surrendered to police, according to French media.

Four people – including two security guards and two men staying at the camp – were gunned down at Loon-Plage, a stretch of coast near Dunkirk, the city’s chief prosecutor, Charlotte Huet, said in a statement. as reported by French media.

The gunman also confessed to an earlier shooting in the nearby town of Wormhout, the prosecutor added.

The mayor of Dunkirk, Patrice Vergriete, said the motive for the attacks “remains unknown”.

Several firearms were found in the suspect’s car and he was previously unknown to police, according to the prosecutor’s statement.

The five murders were committed in less than two hours in the Dunkirk area.

According to the prosecutor, a 29-year-old man was killed with “several shots” at 15:15 local time (14:15 GMT) in front of his home in Wormhout, a village located south of the city.

About 45 minutes later, two security guards, aged 33 and 37, died near a port in Loon-Plage, west of Dunkirk, Huet added.

Minutes later, two other men aged 19 and 30 were also shot dead. They were staying at the nearby migrant camp, the prosecutor said.

BBC News has contacted local authorities for comment.

Mayor Vergriete called the incident a “tragedy” and said “an individual cold-bloodedly murdered several people” in the area.

Xavier Bertrand, head of the county assembly, confirmed to X that five people had died in a “tragic event”.

French media reported a heavy presence of emergency services near a migrant camp, although it was unclear whether the shootings took place inside a settlement.

Loon-Plage is home to several temporary settlements that house migrants. It is close to Calais and the Straits of Dover, which is the narrowest part of the Channel.

Similar camps along the northern coast of France have been used by people trying to reach the UK in small boats.