What we know about Kevin T., the 39-year-old man suspected of the terrorist attack which left one dead and several seriously injured in Trappes and La Verrière

The Minister of the Interior speaks of a “deadly journey” and a “terrorist crime”. An armed man fired a submachine gun from his vehicle on the morning of Friday, October 23, in Trappes and La Verrière, in Yvelines, leaving one dead and several injured, including three seriously injured. Among them is a 12-year-old girl, whose vital prognosis is in jeopardy.

The suspect, arrested by five police officers from the anti-crime brigade in the neighboring town of Coignières and placed in police custody, was known to the police. The National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office (Pnat) took charge of the investigation, and several elements suggest that its motivations are racist. Here's what we know about this suspect at this point.

A 39-year-old man already known to the police

The suspect's name is Kevin T. and he is 39 years old. He lives in Plaisir, a town in Yvelines located a few kilometers from the scene of the terrorist attack perpetrated Friday morning. According to statements by the mayor of La Verrière, he is from Saint-Cyr-l'École, also in the department.

The thirty-year-old is known to the police, particularly for traffic offences, but not to the intelligence services, according to a source close to the case at franceinfo. His mother, aged 66, came forward on her own to the police.

He had a machine gun and tear gas canisters

At the time of his arrest, Kevin T. was in possession of a machine gun, according to a police source at France Télévisions. He was also carrying tear gas grenades at the time of the incident, according to the same source. The Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nuñez, confirmed the use of a category A automatic weapon, without specifying the model.

His apartment was trapped

After the arrest, the police intervened at the suspect's home, in Plaisir, for a search. According to information from France Télévisions, a mine clearance operation was carried out by the Raid. The apartment had been booby-trapped, notably using gas canisters.

A possible racist motive examined by investigators

If the precise motivations of Kevin T. remain to be determined, several elements lead the judicial authorities to examine the possibility of an act of a racist nature. The National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office (Pnat) took charge of the investigation. Among the qualifications retained, there is notably the charge of assassination in relation to a terrorist enterprise, accompanied by an aggravating circumstance linked "to the real or supposed membership of the victim to a race, an ethnic group, a nation or a religion".

The mayor of Trappes, Ali Rabeh, denounced on BFMTV an “attack with racist connotations” and affirmed that “the deceased person is of African origin and the person in absolute emergency is of North African origin”. For his part, the mayor of La Verrière mentioned two “African type” cleaning agents among the injured. The investigations will now have to determine whether the victims were chosen because of their origin, or whether the suspect shot indiscriminately at people he encountered on his way.