A gunman shooting from his car killed one person and at least 5 others, including a 12-year-old girl, in the Paris suburb of Trappes on Friday, in what authorities described as a racially motivated act of terrorism.
President Emmanuel Macron called it “a racist terror attack” and said the suspect’s statements suggested it was premeditated.
“These people were targeted because of their skin color or perceived religion, and for no other reason,” Macron said following a meeting with officials and residents in the suburb of Trappes, west of Paris. “There is no place for this in France.”
The alleged shooter was “firing at random, wanting to cause a bloodbath” as he drove through Trappes and neighboring La Verriere, Trappes mayor Ali Rabeh told broadcaster BFMTV.
“This is probably one of the first attempted mass killings motivated by Islamophobia and racism,” Rabeh told reporters, The Associated Press reported. “This was a terrorist attack with racist, likely Islamophobic, overtones.”
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said the suspect fired “what appears to have been a military-grade weapon, or at least an automatic weapon.” Rabeh called it a “miracle” that there were not more casualties.
Rabeh said that the gunman targeted passersby at three separate locations, including a playground. Forensic investigators were also seen examining evidence at a gas station.
The alleged shooter was arrested in the nearby town of Coignieres. Nuñez said the attack lasted just under 15 minutes and was stopped by five officers from the anti-crime brigade.
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Officials initially said four people had been wounded, but Rabeh told reporters there were five, including three who were very seriously injured, with their lives in danger.
A 12-year-old girl was seriously wounded after being shot eight times, but is in stable condition, the mayor of La Verriere, Nicolas Dainville, told the Agence France-Presse news agency.
Rabeh said that the person killed was “of African origin” and one of the wounded, “in critical condition, is of North African origin.”
Nuñez said the gunman “clearly” committed “a terrorist crime” that may have been racially motivated. Prosecutors said they were investigating whether the acts targeted the “real or supposed race, ethnicity, nationality or religion” of the victims.
They said they have opened an investigation for “murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise.”
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Bursts of gunfire and “loud bangs”
A police source told AFP that the gunman had fired in bursts from his vehicle around 10:30 a.m. local time.
Samy, a resident of Trappes, about 13 miles west of Paris, told AFP he saw a body on the ground from his window.
His mother, he said, saw a gray Renault Clio car speeding by and heard “loud bangs.”
Writing on X, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said the case was “very serious” and that “all resources of the security forces and the judiciary are fully mobilised.”
President Emmanuel Macron said “the nation is standing with” the victims of this “terrible ordeal.”
Trappes previously experienced tensions after a teacher there reported receiving threats after writing that the state did not do enough to protect another teacher, Samuel Paty. Paty was beheaded by a radical Islamist in 2020 in another Paris suburb after he showed his class caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.
France on edge after street violence and protests
The shooting came with France on edge following riots that erupted amid mass protests over the cost of living, which saw some of the worst street violence in recent years. Demonstrators, including students, labor union members and activists from France’s “Yellow Vest” movement, are expected to take to the streets again Saturday.
French police havepromised a larger presenceto maintain order after a week of overnight curfews across the country. Nuñez said authorities would deploy some 70,000 law enforcement officers and gendarmes. Elite police units will help secure public buildings, he said. Other resources, including helicopters, armored vehicles and water cannons, will also be deployed.
Nuñez said at a news conference that officials will be “absolutely uncompromising” with those involved in violence, looting or vandalism. Police will have a “very firm approach to making arrests, and there will be legal consequences,” he said.
Major Paris museums, including the Louvre, will be closed. Art Basel Paris has canceled its weekend program due to safety concerns, the AP reported.