France is in shock after the Trappes shooting, in which a gunman opened fire from his car in the Paris suburbs of Trappes and La Verrière on Friday, killing one man and wounding five other people, including a 12-year-old girl. President Emmanuel Macron visited the scene and described the shootings as a “racist terrorist attack,” saying the victims were picked out because of the colour of their skin or their religion.
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The rampage lasted less than 15 minutes, but it has shaken the whole country. A 39-year-old suspect, named by prosecutors only as Kevin T., was arrested in the nearby town of Coignières roughly 20 minutes after the shooting began.
What Happened in the Trappes Shooting?
According to French officials, the attacker drove through the working-class towns southwest of Paris on Friday morning and fired an automatic weapon at people in several public places. The locations included a petrol station, a medical centre and a children’s playground.
The man who died was of African origin, local mayor Ali Rabeh said. Among the wounded, the youngest victim drew the most concern: broadcaster BFM reported that a 12-year-old girl was hit eight times and was in serious condition. Officials said several of the injured were fighting for their lives. The toll was raised during the day from four wounded to five.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said the weapon appeared to be military-grade or at least fully automatic. When police searched the suspect’s car, they found a Second World War-era Sten submachine gun and tear-gas grenades. Anti-terrorism prosecutors added a chilling detail: the man’s apartment had been booby-trapped with gas canisters wired to a timer.
Why Macron Calls It a Turning Point
Standing in Trappes on Friday evening, Macron used unusually strong words. He said it was the first time France had faced a terrorist act planned to kill people “based on the colour of their skin or their religion,” and he called the attack a turning point for the country. He also said the gunman appeared to spare some passers-by because of how they looked, which investigators believe points to victims being deliberately selected.
The national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office (PNAT) has taken over the case and opened an investigation into murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise, with the aggravating factor that the act was allegedly committed because of the victims’ real or supposed race, ethnicity, nationality or religion. Prosecutors say the inquiry is examining violence inspired by far-right ideas.
A Country Already on Edge
The timing makes the attack even more sensitive. France had already seen nationwide protests last Saturday, with more demonstrations expected this weekend.
Mayor Rabeh, whose own parents came from Morocco, called the Trappes shooting racist and Islamophobic, saying the people targeted “could just as easily have been my mother, my brothers or my sisters-in-law.”
For now, a town is mourning, a young girl is in hospital, and France is arguing about how hatred turned into gunfire on an ordinary Friday morning.
What we know so far: a gunman opened fire in Trappes and La Verrière on Friday morning; one man was killed and five people were wounded, including a 12-year-old girl; a 39-year-old suspect was arrested in Coignières; and the national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise. Roz Khabar will keep following the investigation and update this story as more details emerge in the coming days.
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