Elderly Frenchman held after shots fired in mosque attack
Two people were shot at the mosque in Bayonne, southern France. AP
French police have arrested a man suspected of firing shots at a mosque in Bayonne in the southwest of France.
Two people, aged 74 and 78, were seriously injured in the shooting as they tried to prevent the attacker from setting fire to the mosque.
The shooter also set a car on fire while fleeing the area on Monday.
Emergency workers at the mosque, where two people were shot by a suspect. AP
"The suspected assailant was arrested by national police ... my thoughts are with the victims and their family," Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said on his Twitter account.
A police source said the 84-year-old suspect had far-right connections. A separate source familiar with the situation said the man had been a candidate for Marine Le Pen's National Rally party in 2015.
The suspect is believed to have shot two elderly people who tried to stop him setting the mosque on fire. AP
National Rally's Le Pen condemned the attack on the mosque.
"The attack ... goes against all the values of our movement," she said.
The police source said a handgun was found in the suspect's car.
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