France, shooting in Trappes: one dead and four injured. Macron: ‘A racist terrorist attack’
It happened on the morning of Friday 23 October. According to the mayor of Trappes, the attacker intended to carry out a massacre
Following the armed attack in Trappes and La Verrière near Paris, the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office has opened an investigation into “murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise, with the aggravating circumstance that the acts were committed on the grounds of membership, whether real or presumed, of a specific and alleged race, ethnicity, nation or religion”: this is reported by the PNAT itself. The counter-terrorism investigation also concerns the “possession of Category A weapons”, which includes, amongst other things, automatic weapons capable of firing in bursts and “criminal association of a terrorist nature aimed at preparing crimes against persons”.
The French President, Emmanuel Macron, visited the scene of the attack this evening, according to the Élysée Palace, describing it as a ‘racist terrorist attack’. Sources state that, by being there, the President intends to express “his solidarity with all those involved”. “He will speak with the mayor, the emergency services and some residents of Trappes,” the Presidency added in a statement.
One dead and four injured
The toll stands at one dead and four injured following the shooting that took place at around 10.30 this morning – Friday 23 October – in the town of Trappes, in the French department of Yvelines.
It would appear that the victim was 26 years old, whilst the injured also include a 12-year-old girl. The toll could have been far worse, given that it appears the attacker fired ‘at random’ whilst remaining in his car, in an attempt to cause a ‘bloodbath’ – according to the mayor of Trappes. The attacker was quickly arrested by the police in the town of Coignières. The French newspaper *Le Figaro* reports that the weapon used is believed to be a Sten submachine gun, a model dating from the Second World War.
The flat belonging to Kevin T., the man suspected of the shooting that took place this morning in Trappes, in the French department of Yvelines, had been set up as a trap with gas cylinders left inside. This is according to Le Figaro, citing sources.
