Five dead after shootings near Dunkirk happymamay

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

Four people – including two security guards and two men staying at the camp – were shot dead in Lone Plage, a coastal strip near Dunkirk, city prosecutor Charlotte Huet said in a statement, French media reported.

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

Dunkirk Mayor Patrice Vergreti said the motive behind the attacks “remains unknown.”

The prosecutor’s statement said that several firearms were found in the suspect’s car and he was not previously known to the police.

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

According to the prosecutor, a 29-year-old man was killed “by multiple gunshot wounds” at 15:15 local time (14:15 GMT) outside his home in the village of Wormhout, just south of the city.

About 45 minutes later, two security guards, aged 33 and 37, were killed near a port in Lone Plage, just west of Dunkirk, Hoyt 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 Vergreti described the incident as a “tragedy” and said that “someone coldly killed several people” in the area.

Xavier Bertrand, president of the region’s association, confirmed on Channel X that five people had died in a “tragic event.”

French media reported a large emergency services presence near a migrant camp, although it is unclear whether the shooting took place inside the settlement.

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

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