A shooting in the Paris suburbs kills 1 and wounds five in a suspected
racist attack
[October 24, 2026]
By SAMUEL PETREQUIN
PARIS (AP) — A gunman firing from a vehicle at three locations in the
Paris suburbs killed one person and wounded at least five others,
including a 12-year-old girl, in what French authorities described as a
racially motivated attack.
The suspect was arrested soon after the shooting, and France’s National
Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s office took charge of the case. President
Emmanuel Macron said it was “a racist terror attack“ and that the
suspect's statements suggested it was premeditated.
"These people were targeted because of their skin color or perceived
religion, and for no other reason," Macron said following a meeting with
officials and residents in the suburb of Trappes, west of Paris. “There
is no place for this in France."
The shootings took place over the course of about 15 minutes at three
separate locations in the towns of Trappes and La Verrière, a suburban
area about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from Paris, Interior Minister
Laurent Nuñez said. One person died and five were wounded, three of them
with life-threatening injuries, he said.
“A deadly rampage took place this morning,” Nuñez told reporters in
Trappes.
The suspect, who was arrested by police less than 20 minutes after he
first started shooting, has been identified only as Kévin T., born in
1987, the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s office said. Authorities
did not disclose the man's last name.
His criminal record shows four previous convictions that had been
automatically expunged under French law, the statement said.
A search of his car uncovered a Sten-type submachine gun and a canister
of tear gas, and investigators found his apartment had been
booby-trapped with three gas cylinders and electrical wires connected to
a timer, according to the Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s office.
Another person, a member of the suspect’s immediate family, also was
taken into police custody during the afternoon, it said.
The National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's office said the person who died
was a French man born in 2000. The medical condition of the people
injured had not yet stabilized on Friday evening, it said.
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Forensic investigators search for evidence after a shooting in
Trappes, outside Paris, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da
Silva)
Nuñez praised the five officers from the anti-crime brigade who
stopped the suspect. “I commend them for their swift response,” he
said.
Aurore Bergé, the minister for gender equality and the fight against
discrimination, said the 12-year-old girl was very seriously
injured.
"If a racist motive is established, I hope that the whole nation
will stand alongside the residents of Trappes, La Verrière, and the
victims. We cannot tolerate even the slightest racist remark in the
French Republic,” she said.
Trappes Mayor Ali Rabeh said the gunman appeared to have fired
relatively randomly, targeting passersby at several locations
including a playground, possibly because of their apparent African
origin.
“This is probably one of the first attempted mass killings motivated
by Islamophobia and racism,” he told reporters.
The National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s office said it opened a
criminal investigation into several offenses, including “murder in
connection with a terrorist enterprise with the aggravating
circumstance that the act was committed on account of the victim’s
actual or perceived membership of a particular race, ethnic group,
nationality or religion.”
The shooting happened as France braces for another day of protests
against the high cost of living on Saturday, with major museums
closing their doors and the government deploying a significantly
larger security presence to prevent a repeat of last week’s violent
unrest, which shocked the country.
___
Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed.
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