Shootings in Trappes near Paris: One dead, five wounded — among them a 12-year-old girl
An armed gunman opened fire in Trappes, a suburb of Paris, killing one person and wounding five others. The Interior Minister described the attack as "clearly a terrorist crime".
Armed attack in Trappes: "Terrorist crime with racist undertones"
One person was killed and five were wounded — three of whom are in critical condition — when an armed gunman opened fire on passers-by in Trappes, a suburb of Paris, according to Ethnos. Among the wounded is a 12-year-old girl who is fighting for her life. The suspected perpetrator was arrested during the attack.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, who visited Trappes, described the incident as "clearly a terrorist crime, an exceptionally serious act". He added that five police officers "arrested the perpetrator very quickly" and "very likely — the investigation will confirm or otherwise — stopped this murderous attack that would have continued". The attack "lasted just over fifteen minutes" and "caused numerous victims", Nunez told the press.
The National Counter-Terrorism Prosecution Office (PNAT) took over the case and launched an investigation into "murder in connection with a terrorist operation".
"First attempted mass murder with Islamophobic undertones"
The mayor of Trappes, Ali Rabeh, condemned "an attack with racist undertones, possibly Islamophobic", calling for "democratic unity". Speaking to the press, he stated: "We are collectively responsible for what has just happened and for what could happen again in our country, and our responsibility is to de-escalate, to preserve the cohesion of democracy".
"A 12-year-old girl is fighting for her life right now, having been targeted by automatic weapons fire in our country. The crime is likely based on 'racial' grounds", Rabeh added. The mayor described the incident as "very likely one of the first, a first attempted mass murder with Islamophobic and racist undertones", whilst praising "the courage of the police" who arrested the suspect.
Visibly moved, Rabeh stressed: "The people targeted today could have been my mother, my siblings, my in-laws". He also called for a collective response to rhetoric that, as he said, "ideologically arms those capable of taking action", characterising it as "criminal". "In a large country such as ours, we must defend political unity", he concluded.
"Words can lead to violence"
Auréor Bergé, Minister for Combating Discrimination, who accompanied Nunez to Trappes, stated that, "if this act and this racist motive are confirmed" by the judicial system, "I obviously hope that the entire nation will stand by the residents of Trappes and La Verrière, the victims, because we cannot in the French Republic tolerate even the slightest racist or biased speech". "And we know that words can lead to violence", Bergé added, assuring that "the government is obviously particularly committed to combating all forms of discrimination and combating racism".
Source: Ethnos