Trappes Car Attack Wounds Five, Including Girl Shot Eight Times
France deployed about 70,000 security personnel after a shooting that left one dead and prompted museum closures in Paris.
By Harper Laurent ·
A gunman firing from a moving car killed one person and wounded five others on Friday in the Paris suburb of Trappes, striking passersby at three locations including a playground. Among the wounded is a 12-year-old girl who was shot eight times. The suspect was arrested in the nearby town of Coignieres after an attack that lasted just under 15 minutes, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said.
Shots began around 10:30 a.m. local time, fired in bursts from the vehicle, a police source told Agence France-Presse. Nuñez said the weapon appeared to be military-grade or at least automatic, and that five officers from the anti-crime brigade ended the attack. Officials initially reported four wounded. Trappes mayor Ali Rabeh later put the count at five, three of them critically hurt and in danger of dying. The person killed was 'of African origin,' Rabeh said, and one critically wounded victim is of North African origin.
President Emmanuel Macron called it 'a racist terror attack' after meeting officials and residents. 'These people were targeted because of their skin color or perceived religion, and for no other reason,' Macron said. 'There is no place for this in France.' Rabeh told broadcaster BFMTV that the suspect drove through Trappes and neighboring La Verriere 'firing at random, wanting to cause a bloodbath,' and said it was a 'miracle' that there were not more casualties.
Prosecutors opened an investigation for 'murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise,' examining whether victims were targeted for their 'real or supposed race, ethnicity, nationality or religion.' The National Anti- Terrorism Prosecutor's Office said three people from the suspect's family and circle of friends were taken into custody Friday evening and overnight. The suspect has four prior convictions, all legally expunged, and has not been publicly identified.
The shooting landed amid planned demonstrations over living costs and a week of overnight curfews. Nuñez said about 70,000 police officers and gendarmes would deploy Saturday, backed by elite units guarding public buildings, helicopters, armored vehicles and water cannons. The Louvre and other major Paris museums were closing, and Art Basel Paris canceled its weekend program over safety concerns.
