France • • • 🌿 Progressive

Calle residencial de un suburbio francés al suroeste de París cerrada a distancia con una cinta de cordón, en ambiente sobrio y sin personas en primer plano
Erick Prometeo Media

France probes Paris-area shootings as a racist terrorism case

Antiterrorism prosecutors are investigating the three shootings in Trappes and La Verrière, near Paris, which left a 26-year-old dead and four seriously…

--- The context --- The antiterrorism prosecutor's office has taken over the investigation into shootings on Friday about thirty kilometres from Paris, leaving one person dead and four seriously wounded. Prosecutors are working on the hypothesis of a racist motive, based on the victims' real or supposed membership of a race, an ethnic group, a nation or a religion. The attacks took place in Trappes and La Verrière, southwest of the capital, in Yvelines. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said he would travel to the scene. --- The facts --- At around 10:30, 8:30 GMT, the attacker fired bursts of shots at people in the street on three occasions. There were three shootings in total, carried out from a vehicle and with an automatic weapon, as the minister explained at a press conference. The attacker was arrested. According to local media, the person who died was a 26-year-old citizen. In La Verrière, three people were wounded: a 12-year-old girl who received eight bullet impacts and whose condition had been stabilised, and two men aged 29 and 49 transferred to two large hospitals in the Paris region, according to its mayor. The detainee was arrested in Coignières. According to French media, he has been identified as Kevin, is 39 years old and comes from Saint Cyr, in the same department. Law enforcement officers are checking whether he had a prior record. --- The positions --- The National Antiterrorism Prosecutor's Office opened an investigation into murder and attempted murder based on real or supposed membership of a race, ethnic group, nation or religion, as well as weapons possession and terrorist criminal association. The police antiterrorism subdirectorate will lead the inquiries in coordination with the intelligence services. President Emmanuel Macron expressed his deep emotion, sent his condolences to the victims, their families and the inhabitants of Yvelines, said the nation stands alongside them and thanked police for their diligence in the arrest. The mayor of Trappes, Ali Rabeh, said the attacker fired at random and that the deceased and another very seriously wounded person belong to racial minorities. The mayor of La Verrière, Nicolas Dainville, provided the details of his three wounded. --- What remains unknown --- The result of the check on the detainee's prior record is not yet known, nor is there definitive confirmation of the motive. The investigation will have to establish what evidence supports the racist hypothesis on which antiterrorism prosecutors are working. --- Unanswered questions --- Will the investigation confirm a racist motive behind the attacks in Trappes and La Verrière? Did the detainee identified as Kevin, aged 39, have a prior record? How will the stabilised 12-year-old girl and the very seriously wounded man progress? --- EPM analysis --- That the antiterrorism prosecutor's office took charge of the case and is investigating it on charges linked to racial or religious membership underlines its gravity. Protecting people targeted for their origin or religion is at the centre of the response, alongside care for the seriously wounded. 📌 EPM Take: In EPM's view, the decision to investigate these shootings as racist terrorism requires the case to be treated with the seriousness owed to an attack on people in the street. The hypothesis still has to be confirmed with evidence, and checking the detainee's record will be a key piece. In the meantime, the priority is twofold and clear: support the victims and their families, and establish in full whether racial hatred guided each burst fired this Friday near Paris.
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