France: Two Held In Hunt For 'Serial Killer'

Police in France have arrested two suspects in connection with four murders, which authorities fear may have been committed by a serial killer.

One suspect was said to be a 33-year-old man and described by La Monde as "very serious".

The publication said he was arrested on Saturday afternoon at Draveil in the Essonne region, south of Paris.

The second person in custody was reportedly arrested in Paris.

The four victims, killed between November 27 last year and April 5, were all shot dead with the same gun near their homes in Essonne.

In each murder the gunman reportedly fled on a motorbike - recalling the method used by Islamist extremist Mohammed Merah.

Merah was killed by officers in southern France last month after committing seven murders.

Authorities have said, however, that nothing has suggested any political or religious motives are behind the Essonne shootings.

But hundreds of extra police were sent into the region in the wake of the most recent murder to carry out "vehicle and identity checks".

Earlier this week, police had broadcast photos of a Suzuki motorcycle model GSX-R 750 or 1000 - similar to what could have been used by the perpetrator or perpetrators of the four killings.

French media reports said the first suspect owned a bike similar to the one police were interested in.

On April 5, a 47-year-old woman was killed in the foyer of the apartment block where she lived with her 18-year-old son in the Essonne area of Grigny.

In March, an 81-year-old man was shot in the head and killed at the entrance to a similar block of flats in Grigny's neighbouring suburb of Ris-Orangis.

In February, a 51-year-old man was shot dead in the car park of an apartment building in Juvisy-sur-Orge, while one of his neighbours was killed in the same car park in November last year.

Following the arrests on Saturday, police were also said to be conducting searches.