Paris gunman captured and taken into custody

The Paris gunman has been captured and taken into custody on suspicion of carrying out recent attacks on the Liberation office and Societe Generale HQ, prosecutors say.

French police said the man bore a strong resemblance to the person shown in surveillance camera footage.

He was taken into custody at about 19:00 local time from a vehicle in a car park in Bois-Colombes, west of Paris.

The suspect threatened a TV station last Friday, and attacked the Liberation office and Societe Generale HQ on Monday.

He was apprehended from a stationary car in an underground car park.

Prosecutors said the reading of the man’s rights had been postponed and he was not yet in a position to be questioned. They gave no further explanation and have not yet given the man’s identity nor any motive.

Hundreds of police were involved in an intensive manhunt since Monday and security was stepped up at all media outlets.

An appeal for information generated almost 700 calls.

The first incident – last Friday – was at the offices of the BFMTV television channel.

The intruder emptied the chamber of his gun in the reception area without firing, saying: “Next time, I will not miss you.”

CCTV showed that he spent only a few seconds in reception, before hurrying out.

On Monday, the suspect attacked the offices of the Liberation newspaper, firing twice and critically injuring a 23-year-old photography assistant.

Two hours later, the same man fired shots outside the headquarters of the bank Societe Generale, in the western business district of La Defense. No-one was hurt.

A car was then hijacked and the driver was forced to drop the suspect off near the Avenue des Champs Elysees, where he disappeared.