Gunman kills one, wounds four near Paris; French prosecutors suspect terrorism
Man opens fire from a vehicle in the town of Trappes, with country already on edge following riots and mass protests
A man opened fire from a vehicle on Friday in the streets of the town of Trappes, west of Paris, killing one person and wounding four, a police source said.
French prosecutors are investigating the shooting as a suspected “murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise,” according to national anti-terror prosecutors.
The man was arrested in the nearby town of Coignieres after opening fire in Trappes and neighboring La Verriere around 10:30 am (0830 GMT), police said.
Local authorities said the toll could change as emergency services were still working at the scene, about 20 kilometers (13 miles) west of the French capital.
“An individual fired shots from his vehicle at multiple people along his path, in Trappes and La Verriere,” Trappes mayor Ali Rabeh wrote on Instagram.
Writing on X, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said the case was “very serious” and said “all resources of the security forces and the judiciary are fully mobilized.”
France has seen a spate of Islamist attacks, including the slaughter by jihadists in the heart of Paris in November 2015 that killed 130.
There have been fewer incidents in recent years but officials have warned that the risk remains and that attempted attacks are repeatedly thwarted by intelligence gathering.
Samuel Paty, a teacher in another Paris suburb, was beheaded by a radical Islamist in 2020 after he showed his class caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed.
Trappes has seen its own share of tension, after a teacher there reported receiving threats after writing that the state did not do enough to protect Paty.
Additionally, the shooting comes as France is on edge following riots on the sidelines of mass protests over the cost of living last weekend, which saw some of the worst street violence the country has seen in recent years.
More protests are expected this weekend, with police promising a larger presence, after a week of overnight curfews put in place in cities throughout the country.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the country will deploy some 70,000 security personnel nationwide, warning that calls for violence and looting were already circulating on social media.