Shooting in Trappes and La Verrière: Bursts of gunfire, racist motive, injured little girl… Elements of the investigation

His journey through Trappes then La Verrière, two neighboring towns in Yvelines, only lasted around ten minutes, but the provisional toll is already heavy. This Friday morning, a man opened fire with an automatic weapon from his vehicle, leaving one dead and four injured. Among the latter is a young 12-year-old girl who was very seriously affected. The national anti-terrorist prosecution took charge of the facts. Update on the first elements.

Bursts of gunfire targeting public places

The first shots were reported around 10 a.m. this Friday morning at the bus stop at Square Van Gogh in Trappes. The individual opened fire with an automatic weapon from his Clio before leaving towards Square Louis Pergaud, then to the Esso service station, rue Martin Luther King. Two people were affected in this town, one of whom died.

The man then continued his macabre journey to La Verrière, a nearby town. He first shot a child at rue Marcel Rivière then two people in the Bois de l’Etang area, in front of a pharmacy, he opened fire again.

Who is the suspect?

Kévin T., 39, is the main suspect. He was arrested very quickly, around 10:10 a.m., by a BAC team on the national 10, in Coignières, still in Yvelines. According to our information, a machine gun and tear gas grenades were found in his vehicle. It is still unknown whether he was known to the police and the courts.

According to several police sources, the suspect's apartment in Plaisir was trapped with gas canisters when the police tried to enter it to carry out a search. The National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office has not yet confirmed these elements.

A racist attack?

The National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office (PNAT), initially observing, quickly took up this matter. The random nature of the method of operation - the suspect seems to have opened fire without a clear target - contributed to this decision. This is only the second time in its history that the PNAT has taken up a racist terrorist attack: the investigation was opened for assassination and attempted assassinations in connection with a terrorist enterprise, committed because of belonging to an alleged race, ethnicity, nation or religion.

The mayor of Trappes, Ali Rabeh, described the events as “an attack with racist connotations, probably Islamophobic”. He recalled that the victims were all racialized. According to him, the little girl was targeted because she is “probably” racialized. In his commune, “the deceased person is of African origin and the person in absolute emergency is of North African origin,” he indicated on BFMTV.

Who are the victims?

One person died in Trappes: a 26-year-old man, killed near Square Pergaud. Four people were also injured and are in absolute emergency this Friday afternoon. Among the victims, there was a 12-year-old girl who was hit by eight bullet holes. She was transported to Necker hospital in absolute emergency.

A 21-year-old man was very seriously injured in front of the gas station and two other victims, aged 29 and 47, were hit in front of the pharmacy.