France shooting: At least 3 injured as unidentified assailant opens fire in Lille

At least three people were injured in a shooting in the northern French city of Lille late on Friday night, police said.

According to witnesses, an unidentified assailant opened fire near a metro station before fleeing.

Also read: Paris airport attacker said he was 'ready to die for allah'

Lille police officials said that one of the people shot is a minor, and that none of the injuries is life-threatening. The reason for the shooting is not clear yet.

The incident came as France has declared a state of emergency after incidents of deadly extremist attacks over the past few months.

Newspaper La Voix du Nord and radio France Bleu Nord reports state that the nature of the shooting may not relate to terrorism and the reason may have been settling scores among local criminals in the area, the Associated Press reported.

A Frenchman attempted to seize a soldier's gun at Paris Orly Airport on March 18, and was subsequently shot dead. Reports stated that the assailant had said that he was ready "to die for Allah" and had vowed to slay others, according to French officials.

France's Interior Minister Bruno le Roux said that the attacker, Ziyed Ben Belgacem, had opened fire at a police officer and was later shot down in a shop by a soldier in the airport's southern terminal. The Paris-born assailant was killed after he attacked a soldier and tried to steal her assault weapon.

The 39-year-old Frenchman had a string of criminal convictions and also showed signs of Islamic radicalisation, according to AFP reports.