At least five men, including two security guards, have been shot dead around a migrant camp in northern France.
The bloodbath unfolded near the beach at Loon Plage, close to Dunkirk, from where small boats regularly set off to Britain.
Special forces police were called to the camp on the Mardyck Road soon after 4pm on Saturday after reports of “a lone gunman killing people”, said an investigating source.
The source added: “Four people were shot dead around the camp on the Mardyck Road – two security guards and two migrants.
“The gunman is also said to have shot a transport manager earlier in the afternoon on Saturday.”
First victim killed in front of family
The migrants are said to be of Kurdish origin, and died of gunshot wounds near an oil refinery.
Soon afterwards, the gunman is reported to have killed two security guards who were guarding corporate premises nearby.
The first fatal shooting is said to have happened at Wormhout, some 15 miles inland from Dunkirk, earlier on Saturday afternoon.
The victim was said to be in his 30s, and was “killed in front of his relatives, in what looked like a targeted assassination”, said the source.
Migrants near Dunkirk. The camps where they are housed are plagued with gun and knife violence, often involving people smugglers – Paul Grover for The Telegraph
The suspected gunman was described as being aged 22, and “unknown to the authorities before today”.
He turned himself in to police at Ghyvelde, and was in custody on Saturday evening, facing murder charges.
When his car was searched, multiple weapons were found in the boot.
By 7pm, the area around Loon Plage was flooded with police and emergency services vehicles, as roadblocks were set up.
Soldiers also arrived in the area because of fears that the killer might be working with accomplices.
Identities of the gunman and his victims were not immediately released, said Eric Rommel, the mayor of Loon Plage.
There are frequent reports of gun and knife violence around the migrant camps in northern France.
They often involve people smugglers who control the illegal trade in people travelling to Britain to claim asylum.