Suspect Killed One and Wounded Five in 15-Minute Trappes Rampage

A 39-year-old suspect identified as Kevin T. was arrested after a 15-minute shooting spree that left one person dead and five others injured in the Paris suburbs on Friday. The deadliest moment of the attack involved a 12-year-old girl who was shot eight times and is currently in serious condition.

The violence began at 10:30 a.m. local time. The gunman drove through Trappes and La Verrière, two working-class communities on the outskirts of Paris known for their large immigrant and Muslim populations. He used an automatic weapon to fire at a petrol station, a medical center, and a children's playground before police took him into custody.

Local MP Laurent Mazaury stated that the suspect told officers he wanted to kill foreigners. Mazaury described the suspect as a racist. French media reported that the deceased man, Pengo Bassio Wangi, was young and Black. Among the wounded were a woman in a headscarf and the 12-year-old girl, who was also wearing a headscarf. Prosecutors confirmed that three of the five injured individuals are in critical condition.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez declared the incident clearly a terrorist crime while investigations continue. Prosecutors are examining whether the suspect conspired with a terrorist group. A member of his immediate family circle has also been taken into custody. Investigators found a World War II-era semiautomatic weapon and tear gas grenades in the suspect's car.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu called the case very serious and said all security and judicial resources were mobilized. President Emmanuel Macron labeled the incident a racist terrorist attack and a turning point for the Republic. He said France remains determined to fight racism in all its forms.

Trappes mayor Ali Rabeh, who has Moroccan roots, said the gunman fired at random and wanted to cause a bloodbath. Rabeh called the attack objectively racist and probably Islamophobic. He noted that the victims could have been his own relatives. Regarding the wounded girl, he said her crime was probably being of colour.

The girl's mother told broadcaster RTL that she questioned whether her daughter was targeted because of her headscarf. She stressed that the girl was born in Trappes and has the right to build her life in France. Authorities plan to deploy 70,000 police officers on Saturday for expected demonstrations. The attack occurs amid cost-of-living and student protests that have gripped the country.

Far-right National Rally leader Marine Le Pen condemned the shooting as barbaric. Muslim groups accused the populist right of fostering hatred through Islamophobic rhetoric. They pointed to Le Pen's proposal to fine women who wear the headscarf in public. Rabeh called politicians who make negative comments about Muslims criminals. The French Muslim Council blamed promoters of anti-Muslim hate speech, saying they have blood on their hands.