One person has been killed and five others wounded – three seriously – in a gun attack in a Parisian suburb which authorities are investigating as “terrorism”.
Several drive-by shootings took place on Friday – first in Trappes to the south-west of Paris, and then in nearby La Verrière. The rampage lasted almost 15 minutes, said Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez. A12-year-old girl is among the wounded.
The suspected attacker has been arrested. The motive remains unclear, but the National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor’s Office (PNAT) said the incident appeared to be “murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise”.
Nuñez told reporters in Trappes: “It’s clearly a terrorist crime, that’s what [the prosecutor] has said.”
The Mayor of Trappes, Ali Rabeh, said that “an individual fired shots from his vehicle at several people he encountered” on Friday morning.
The gunman drove through several neighbourhoods in a grey Renault Clio, according to witnesses. Rabeh said he had “fired randomly” with the seeming intent of causing “as many casualties as possible… he wanted to cause carnage”, he said.
The mayor said people had been targeted at a petrol station, a medical centre and a playground in Trappes before the attacker had driven on to nearby La Verrière.
A police union official said the suspect had been detained in La Verrière on the main N10 road that runs through the town.
