Marseille:
A French teenager who used a Kalashnikov to shoot three men dead obtained his murder weapon on the Internet, it emerged on Friday, a day after the shooting.
The apparently deranged 19-year-old was arrested shortly after opening fire on motorists and pedestrians in the small town of Istres, near Marseille on Thursday afternoon.
Police sources said the weapons enthusiast had bought the deactivated rifle on the Internet and had been able to get it working. Raids on his parents homes revealed that he had significant stocks of ammunition.
The teenager had been cautioned in May 2012 for possession of firearms and was well known to local police.
Under interrogation, he was unable to offer any reason for his shooting spree and police said he did not know any of his victims.
"It is not right that somebody can just order a Kalashnikov and the ammunition to go with it over the Internet," Interior Minister Manuel Valls said.
Police investigating the triple murder have arrested a 24-year-old man in Paris after being given his name by the teenager. It remained unclear on Friday afternoon if the man had anything to do with the killing.