French President Emmanuel Macron has labelled a deadly drive-by shooting in a Paris suburb a “racist terrorist attack” after a gunman killed one person and wounded five others, including a 12-year-old girl.
The attack unfolded Friday morning when a gunman opened fire from a vehicle at a petrol station, a medical centre and a children’s playground in Trappes, southwest of Paris, before continuing to nearby La Verrière.
Officials said the spree lasted nearly 15 minutes and left three people with serious injuries.
A 39-year-old suspect, named in French media as Kevin T, was arrested on the N10 road. A member of his immediate family was also taken into custody.
Macron, visiting the scene, said the attack marked “a turning point” for France, describing it as “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 urged the public not to “give an inch” to such ideologies.
Trappes Mayor Ali Rabeh said the gunman “fired randomly” with the intent of causing “as many casualties as possible,” calling the attack “objectively racist, probably Islamophobic.”
He noted the deceased victim was of African origin and one critically injured victim was of North African descent.
The mother of the injured 12-year-old told RTL her daughter suffered eight gunshot wounds and requires surgery, questioning whether her headscarf made her a target.
“How could anyone do this to a child?” she asked.
“Murder committed by members of a terrorist organisation” has been investigated by the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office (PNAT), based on the aggravating factor of an offence committed due to being a member of any race, ethnicity, nation or religion. The individual had four prior convictions that have since been erased and is unknown to the intelligence agencies.
The shooting takes place in the context of high tensions in France, after protests erupted across the country over the weekend.
