One dead, 6 hurt in shooting on French island of Corsica

BASTIA, France — A man in his sixties, known to police, killed one person and wounded six others, including a police officer, when he opened fire with a rifle in the middle of a street in Bastia on the French island of Corsica on Wednesday afternoon.

After receiving reports of the shooting, which began around 4:25 p.m., police rushed to the scene. The man, whose name has not been released by authorities, then opened fire on the officers before fleeing to his apartment building, located nearby in the Montesoro district in the south of Bastia.

One police officer was lightly injured, officials said. The condition of the other wounded was not immediately known.

Local media cited police sources as saying shortly after the incident that they had ruled out terrorism or robbery as a motive. Reports suggested the man was in a feud with his neighbors.

Local police urged residents to avoid the area, saying in a tweet, “Police intervention underway in the Lupino section [of Bastia]. A sniper fired on passers-by before retreating into his building. Please avoid the area.”

Police said a security perimeter had been established in the area, and officers evacuated a nearby bowling alley and a cultural center and sealed off an adjacent cemetery.

Gilles Simeoni, the head of Corsica’s government, said on Twitter, “Dramatic shooting in #Bastia. We are all, in person or in thought, with the victims and their families.”