Seven injured in 15-minute Trappes shooting

The attack on Trappes and La Verriere lasted approximately 15 minutes, leaving one person dead and five others wounded.

The gunman drove through the northern Paris suburbs on Friday morning, firing an automatic weapon at a petrol station, a medical centre, and a playground. Local time was 10:30 am when the shooting began. Police arrested the suspect, a 39-year-old named Kevin T., shortly after the rampage ended.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez described the incident as clearly a terrorist crime. Prosecutors are currently examining whether the suspect conspired with a terrorist group. A member of the suspect's immediate family is in custody. Investigators recovered a semiautomatic weapon from the World War II era and tear gas grenades from the suspect's vehicle. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu stated that all security and judicial resources are mobilised.

The dead man was identified as Pengo Bassio Wangi, a young Black man. Among the five injured is a 12-year-old girl of North African descent who was shot eight times. She is undergoing surgery at a children's hospital. Prosecutors reported that three of the five injured are in critical condition. The girl's mother, speaking to broadcaster RTL, asked how anyone could do this to a child. She noted her daughter was born in Trappes and questioned if the headscarf she was wearing was a target.

President Emmanuel Macron labelled the event a turning point for the Republic. He said France remains determined to fight racism in all forms. Laurent Mazaury, the local MP, said the suspect told officers he wanted to kill foreigners. Mazaury added that he believes the attacker is a racist person.

Trappes mayor Ali Rabeh, who has Moroccan roots, described the shooting as objectively racist and probably Islamophobic. He stated the victims could have been his own relatives. Rabeh called politicians who make negative comments about Muslims criminals. The French Muslim Council accused promoters of anti-Muslim hate speech of having blood on their hands.

The shooting occurs while cost-of-living and student protests grip France. Authorities plan to deploy 70,000 police officers for demonstrations expected on Saturday. Far-right National Rally leader Marine Le Pen condemned the attack as barbaric. Muslim groups accused the populist right of fostering hatred, citing Le Pen's proposal to fine women who wear headscarves in public.

Monitors report growing anti-Muslim hostility in Europe. The European Parliament passed a resolution last week with 381 votes to 167, calling for an EU strategy against Islamist entryism. The EU's Fundamental Rights Agency states one in two Muslims in Europe face racial discrimination. In the United States, California's attorney general reported anti-Muslim hate crimes rose 54 percent in 2025, from 24 to 38.