Gunman Opens Fire From His Car in Paris Suburb Trappes, Killing One and Wounding Five

A gunman firing from his car killed one person and wounded several others Friday in Trappes, a Paris suburb about 13 miles west of the French capital. Prosecutors are investigating the shooting as a possible terrorist act, and officials say at least two of the victims were from immigrant backgrounds.

A police source told AFP the gunman fired in bursts around 10:30 a.m. local time. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said the attack spread across Trappes and the neighboring town of La Verrière and lasted just under 15 minutes. Trappes Mayor Ali Rabeh said the shooter targeted passersby at three separate locations, including a playground. Five officers from the anti-crime brigade stopped the attack, Nuñez said, and the suspect was arrested in nearby Coignières. His name has not been released.

One person was killed, whom Rabeh described as "of African origin." Officials first said four people were wounded, but Rabeh later said the number was five, three of them very seriously hurt. One wounded person in critical condition is of North African origin. La Verrière Mayor Nicolas Dainville said a 12-year-old girl was shot eight times and is in stable condition.

Rabeh told BFMTV the gunman was "firing at random, wanting to cause a bloodbath." He called it "a terrorist attack with racist, likely Islamophobic, overtones" and said the fact that more people did not die was a "miracle." Nuñez said the suspect fired what appeared to be a military-grade or automatic weapon and "clearly" committed "a terrorist crime" that may have been racially motivated.

Prosecutors opened an investigation for murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise and are examining whether the victims were targeted for their real or supposed race, ethnicity, nationality or religion. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu called the case "very serious" on X and said all security and judicial resources were fully mobilized. President Emmanuel Macron said "the nation is standing with" the victims of this "terrible ordeal."

One Trappes resident, Samy, told AFP he saw a body on the ground from his window. His mother saw a grey Renault Clio speeding by and heard "loud bangs."

The shooting came as France faces some of its worst street unrest in years, with riots and mass protests over the cost of living. Protests involving students, unions and Yellow Vest activists were expected again Saturday, and authorities planned to deploy about 70,000 police officers and gendarmes, along with helicopters, armored vehicles and water cannons. Nuñez vowed to be "absolutely uncompromising" toward violence, looting and vandalism. The Louvre and other major Paris museums are closed, and Art Basel Paris canceled its weekend program over safety concerns.

Trappes has been in the national spotlight before over tensions around radicalization and the 2020 beheading of teacher Samuel Paty in another Paris suburb.