French Authorities Designate Trappes Shooting as Racist Terrorist Act After One Killed
A gunman in a car killed a young Black man and wounded five others, including a child, in a 15-minute rampage near Paris that officials now classify as terrorism.
By Thiago Kovalenko ·
French authorities have officially designated a violent shooting rampage near Paris as a terrorist act motivated by racism. The incident occurred on Friday and resulted in the death of one person and the injury of five others, including a twelve-year-old girl who suffered serious wounds.
The attack began at approximately 10:30 a.m. local time. The suspect drove through the working-class communities of Trappes and La Verriere, areas on the outskirts of Paris with significant immigrant populations. He fired an automatic weapon at a petrol station, a medical centre, and a children's playground. The spree lasted roughly fifteen minutes until police arrested the thirty-nine-year-old suspect, identified as Kevin T. Prosecutors stated that three of the five injured individuals remain in critical condition.
The deceased victim has been named as Pengo Bassio Wangi. French media reported that he was a young Black man. Among the wounded was a woman wearing a headscarf and the twelve-year-old girl, who is of North African descent and was also wearing a headscarf. The girl's mother stated that her daughter was shot eight times and was transported to a children's hospital for surgery.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez described the event as clearly a terrorist crime. Prosecutors are investigating whether the suspect conspired with a terrorist group and have taken a member of his immediate family into custody. Investigators discovered a World War II era semiautomatic weapon and tear gas grenades in the suspect's car. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu declared the case very serious and confirmed that all security and judicial resources are mobilised.
President Emmanuel Macron labelled the incident a racist terrorist attack and a turning point for the Republic. He affirmed France's determination to fight racism in all its forms. Trappes mayor Ali Rabeh, who has Moroccan roots, stated that the gunman fired at random to cause a bloodbath. He described the attack as objectively racist and probably Islamophobic, noting that the victims could easily have been his own relatives.
The girl's mother questioned how anyone could do this to a child and asked if her daughter was targeted because of her headscarf. She emphasized that the girl was born in Trappes and has the right to build her life in France. Local MP Laurent Mazaury said the suspect told officers he wanted to kill foreigners.
The shooting occurred while the country faces cost-of-living and student protests. Authorities plan to deploy 70,000 police officers for further demonstrations expected on Saturday. The event has sparked debate, with far-right leader Marine Le Pen calling the shooting barbaric. Muslim groups accused the right of fostering hatred, citing proposals to fine women who wear headscarves in public. The French Muslim Council stated that promoters of anti-Muslim hate speech have blood on their hands.
