A shooting near Paris has left one person dead and four others injured, with French officials investigating the incident as a possible Islamophobic hate crime.
What happened
A 39-year-old suspect, who has not been named, allegedly drove through the town of Trappes, firing an automatic weapon at multiple locations, including a petrol station, a medical centre, and a children’s playground.
French President Emmanuel Macron has condemned the attack as a racist terror incident, stating that the victims were targeted due to their religion and skin color. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez described the act as an extremely serious terrorist crime.
The mayor of Trappes, Ali Rabeh, characterized the attack as objectively racist and probably Islamophobic. Rabeh, whose parents are from Morocco, expressed concern that the victims could have been his own family members.
One person has been arrested and charged with murder, possession of a firearm, and other counts, with the prosecution citing the aggravating circumstance of the acts being committed on the basis of race, ethnicity, or religion. Among the injured is a 12-year-old girl, who was reportedly hit eight times and is in serious condition.
