Five dead after shootings near Dunkirk

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

According to reports in the French media, the city’s chief prosecutor, Charlotte Huet, said that four people, including two security guards and two men staying in the camp, were fatally shot in Loon-Plage, located on the coastline near Dunkirk.

The prosecutor added that the gunman also admitted to carrying out a previous shooting in the nearby town of Wormhout.

Dunkirk Mayor Patrice Vergriete said the reason behind the attacks was “unknown”.

In the prosecutor’s statement, it was stated that there were many firearms in the suspect’s car and that the suspect was not known to the police before.

All five murders reportedly occurred in the Dunkirk area in less than two hours.

A 29-year-old man was killed “by several shots” outside his home in the village of Wormhout, just south of the city, at 15:15 local time (14:15 GMT), according to the prosecutor.

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

Minutes later, two more men, aged 19 and 30, were shot dead. The prosecutor said they were staying in a nearby migrant camp.

BBC News has contacted local authorities for comment.

Mayor Vergriete called the incident a “tragedy” and said “one person killed several people in cold blood in the area.”

District council president Xavier Bertrand confirmed five people had died in a “tragic incident” in X.

French media reported a large emergency service presence near a migrant camp, but it was unclear whether the shootings took place inside a settlement.

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

Similar camps on the north coast of France are used by people trying to reach England by small boats.