Paris, October 23: President Emmanuel Macron has described Friday's fatal shooting in the Paris suburbs of Trappes and La Verrière as a terrorist and racist attack that "marked a turning point" in the history of France, after visiting the scene on Friday night. The president said the victims were targeted because of their religion and skin colour.
Source: Sky News
"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," Mr Macron said. "There is no place for this in France." He said the gunman had deliberately chosen not to fire on some people because of their skin colour and appearance.
The attack happened at about 10:30 a.m. local time on Friday, when a gunman fired from a car at three separate locations in Trappes and neighbouring La Verrière, about 15 miles southwest of central Paris, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said. One person was killed and five were wounded, including a 12-year-old girl who was seriously injured; the mayors of the two towns told French media she had been hit eight times. Police have not commented on the identities or ages of the victims, and the girl has not been named.
Source: The Guardian / AFP
France's anti-terrorism prosecutor said on Friday evening that the arrested suspect had been identified as Kevin T., aged 39, his surname withheld as is common in French criminal inquiries. A Sten gun — a submachine gun developed during the Second World War — and a tear-gas grenade were found in the suspect's car, the prosecutor said. According to prosecutors, the man had also booby-trapped his flat with three gas canisters connected by electric wires to a timer, and an investigation has been opened for murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise. He was arrested in nearby Coignières.
Trappes mayor Ali Rabeh told BFMTV the gunman appeared to be firing at random and seemed intent on carrying out a massacre, and that it was a "miracle" there were not more victims. He said the person killed was of African origin and one of the wounded, in critical condition, was of North African origin, and he called the attack "objectively a racist, probably Islamophobic attack" — his characterisation, which prosecutors say they are examining as they investigate whether the victims were targeted over their real or supposed race, ethnicity, nationality or religion.
Mr Nunez, who called the shooting "clearly a terrorist crime", said around 70,000 security personnel would be on duty this weekend as France braces for further protests over the cost of living and the state of schools, with major museums such as the Louvre staying closed. The anti-terrorism prosecutor's investigation is continuing. This report updates Awaaz Punjab's earlier story on the shootings and the opening of the terror probe.
Awaaz Punjab's earlier report on the shootings, published when anti-terrorism prosecutors first opened their investigation, is here: One Killed, Four Seriously Wounded in Paris Suburb Shootings; Anti-Terror Prosecutors Open Probe