Macron calls Trappes drive-by shooting a racist terror attack; anti-terror prosecutors take over
A 39-year-old gunman fired from a car at three sites in Trappes and La Verriere, killing one man and wounding five others, including a 12-year-old girl. President Emmanuel Macron said the victims were targeted because of their skin color or religion.
A gunman firing from a car at three locations in the Paris suburbs of Trappes and La Verriere killed one person and wounded five others, including a 12-year-old girl, on Friday morning. French President Emmanuel Macron described the rampage as a “racist terror attack” and said the victims were chosen because of their skin color or religion.
“These people were targeted because of their skin color or perceived religion, and for no other reason,” Macron said after meeting officials and residents in Trappes. “There is no place for this in France.” France’s national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office, known as PNAT, has taken over the investigation.
The suspect and the search
Police arrested the suspect, identified only as Kevin T., 39, less than 20 minutes after the first shots were fired. Officers from the anti-crime brigade stopped him in Coignieres, a neighboring town. A search of his car turned up a Sten-type submachine gun and a canister of tear gas, according to the prosecutor’s office.
The person killed was a French man born in 2000, the office said. Three of the wounded had life-threatening injuries, and broadcaster BFM reported that the 12-year-old girl had been hit eight times and was in serious condition. As of Friday evening, the condition of the injured had not yet stabilized.
Investigators also found the suspect’s apartment booby-trapped with three gas cylinders and electrical wires connected to a timer, according to PNAT. A member of his immediate family was taken into police custody on Friday afternoon. His criminal record shows four previous convictions that had been automatically expunged under French law.
A tense backdrop in France
Macron traveled to Trappes on Friday evening. “What happened today is, I am telling you, a turning point, because it is the first time we have had a terrorist act that was planned to kill our compatriots, our children, based on the colour of their skin or their religion,” he told reporters. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez called the shooting a “murderous expedition” and praised the five anti-crime officers who made the arrest.
The attack came at a strained moment in France. Nationwide protests turned violent last Saturday, and more demonstrations against the cost of living are expected this weekend, with the government deploying an expanded security presence to prevent a repeat of last week’s unrest.
Reporting based on coverage by CNN and the Associated Press.
