French police search for motive after five shot dead in Dunkirk

French police are still trying to establish the motive for five murders that were committed in the space of less than two hours near the port city of Dunkirk on Saturday afternoon.

- Sam Jones

A man who handed himself into police later the same day, claiming to be responsible for all five fatal shootings, has no criminal record and is not known to police or the courts, prosecutors said yesterday.

The 22-year-old suspect was taken into custody after surrendering at a police station in Ghyvelde, just outside Dunkirk, at 5.20pm - about two hours after the first killing took place.

Dunkirk's chief prosecutor, Charlotte Huet, said the man was "unknown to the police service and judicial authorities". She added that multiple inquiries were under way "to clarify the reasons that led the suspect to commit these crimes".