At least one person was killed and five others, including a 12-year-old girl, were injured after a gunman fired from a vehicle at three different locations in the suburbs, in what French authorities are now describing as a racially motivated attack.
French President on Friday (local time) condemned the gun attack and labelled it “a racist terrorist attack”. In two separate posts on social media, Macron expressed condolences and wrote, “Deep emotion following the shooting attack that occurred in Trappes and La Verrière. One person has died. Several others are seriously injured. Our thoughts go out to the victims, their families, and all the residents of Yvelines. In this terrible ordeal, the Nation stands by their side.”
Reports citing Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said that the shootings occurred within a span of 15 minutes at three different locations in the towns of Trappes and La Verrière, roughly 20 miles (30 kilometres) from Paris. Of the five people injured, three had life-threatening injuries, he added. Speaking to reporters in Trappes, Nuñez said, “A deadly rampage took place this morning.”
, who visited the site of the attack in Trappes after a meeting with officials and residents in the area, said, “These people were targeted because of their skin color or perceived religion, and for no other reason,” and added, “There is no place for this in France.”
The man who died was identified by Macron as Pengo Bossio Wangi, a Frenchman born in 2000. The medical condition of those injured had not yet stabilised as of Friday evening. According to the BBC, the 12-year-old girl, who sustained serious injuries, suffered eight gunshot wounds and needed surgery. Speaking to French broadcaster RTL, the victim’s mother said, “How could anyone do this to a child,” adding that her daughter was wearing a headscarf and questioning whether this was the reason she was targeted.
In a statement, Trappes Mayor Ali Rabeh said the suspect, a 39-year-old, appeared to have fired randomly at people, targeting passersby at several locations, including a playground, possibly because of their apparent origin.
According to the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office, which took charge of the case, the suspect was arrested less than 20 minutes after he began shooting and has been identified as Kévin T. The statement further said that the suspect’s criminal record showed four convictions that had been automatically removed from his record under French law. Another person, a member of the suspect’s immediate family, was also taken into custody on Friday, according to the statement.
The National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office has also commenced a criminal investigation into multiple offences, including “murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise with the aggravating circumstance that the act was committed on account of the victim’s actual or perceived membership of a particular race, ethnic group, nationality or religion.”
According to the office, investigators discovered a Sten-type submachine gun and a tear gas canister in his car. His apartment was also rigged as a booby trap, with three gas cylinders and electrical wires linked to a timer.
The shooting occurred as France prepared for fresh over the high cost of living. Students initially led the demonstrations before other groups joined them. Major museums shut their doors, while the government increased security deployments to prevent a recurrence of the violence that shocked the country last week.
(with inputs from AP)
