France’s national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office has taken over the investigation into Friday’s drive-by shooting in the Yvelines department west of Paris, treating the attack as murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise after a gunman opened fire from his car on people in the street, killing one person and injuring four others.
The shooting began at around 10:30 a.m. on Friday, October 23, in the town of Trappes and continued into neighbouring La Verrière, about 15 miles southwest of central Paris. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said the shootings happened at three separate locations and that the attacker used “a military-grade weapon, or at least an automatic weapon,” firing at the people he encountered along his route.
Among the injured is a 12-year-old girl. La Verrière mayor Nicolas Dainville said three people were wounded in his town alone, including the girl, who was hit eight times and whose condition has been stabilised. The victim toll is still provisional, and officials have warned it could change as emergency services finish their work at the scenes.
Trappes mayor Ali Rabeh said the gunman “appeared to be firing at random and seemed intent on carrying out a massacre,” opening fire at various locations, including near a playground. “It is a miracle that there were not more victims,” Rabeh said. He said the person killed was of African origin and one of the wounded was of North African origin, and that the shooter lived in a nearby town.
That detail is now at the centre of the case. The anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office says it is examining whether the attack was motivated by race, ethnicity, nation or religion — an aggravating circumstance written into the investigation alongside the murder charge. The probe has been handed to the anti-terrorism sub-directorate and the domestic intelligence service, with forensic teams working across the three shooting locations.
The suspect, a 39-year-old man, did not get far. Officers from the anti-crime brigade intercepted him on the N10 road at Coignières, and he was arrested and placed in police custody for questioning. No motive has been established so far, and no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu called the events “very serious,” confirming on X that one person had been killed and four injured and that the suspect had been apprehended. “All available resources of the security forces and judicial authorities have been fully mobilised,” Lecornu said. President Emmanuel Macron said he was shocked by the attack and that the nation stands with the victims.
The shooting lands on a country already on edge. France is bracing for another round of protests on Saturday over the high cost of living and the state of schools, a week after widespread unrest and violence. Nuñez said around 70,000 security personnel will be on duty, and major museums such as the Louvre will stay closed. In La Verrière, the town hall is setting up a psychological support unit for residents shaken by the attack.
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