PARIS — French police arrested a man suspected of shootings in Paris that left a newspaper photographer seriously wounded and instigated a two-day nationwide manhunt.

Interior Minister Manuel Valls identified the suspect as Abdelhakim Dekhar, who was convicted in 1998 for participating in a 1994 robbery and car chase that left three police officers and a taxi driver dead.

Dekhar served four years in prison in what was known as the Rey-Maupin affair. The police had lost track of him, and his motives for the shootings are unclear, Valls said.

“All evidence points to his implication in the shootings,” Valls said Wednesday night, alluding to DNA tests. “There will now be a careful investigation to understand his exact motives.”

The shootings that shook the French capital began on the morning of Nov. 18 when a man entered the headquarters of the Liberation newspaper, firing shots that seriously wounding a 23- year-old assistant photographer.

Two hours later, he was seen running from the La Defense business district after firing three shots at Societe Generale’s tower. He then coerced a man into giving him a ride to the Champs Elysees, where he melted into the crowds.

Last week, he targeted the offices of BFM Television, threatening people in the media outlet’s lobby.

COMMITING SUICIDE

Dekhar was arrested in a parked car on the outskirts of Paris, Agence France-Presse said, citing the prosecutor’s office. He appeared to have taken medication and was not coherent, Valls said.

“He seemed to have attempted to commit suicide,” the interior minister said.

The prosecutor’s office had this week pointed to video- surveillance images, saying it showed a man of “European” origin, between 35 and 45, with glasses, a three-day stubble, graying hair, and a baseball cap.

The videos showed the man threatening people in the lobby of BFM, walking toward the Liberation offices and waiting for a tram.