Gunman kills one in racist attack near Paris, Macron says

A gunman opened fire from his car in the Paris suburbs on Friday, killing one person and wounding five others, including a 12-year-old girl shot eight times, in what French President Emmanuel Macron called a "racist terrorist attack." Source: The Guardian The suspect, identified as 39-year-old Kevin T., was arrested after a 15-minute rampage through the towns of Trappes and La Verrière. Source: BBC

The Attack

The gunman fired an automatic weapon at a petrol station, a medical centre, and a children's playground. Source: Al Jazeera Trappes mayor Ali Rabeh said the man was "firing at random, wanting to cause a bloodbath." Source: South China Morning Post Authorities found a WWII-era Sten submachine gun and tear gas grenades in his car. Source: DW News The victim killed was Pengo Bassio Wangi, a young Black man. Source: The Guardian

Motive and Investigation

France's anti-terrorism prosecutor is investigating the attack as "murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise," examining whether victims were targeted because of their "real or supposed race, ethnicity, nationality or religion." Source: BBC Mayor Rabeh called it "objectively a racist attack, probably Islamophobic." Source: Al Jazeera Macron said the gunman targeted people because of the colour of their skin, adding that racism had become part of the "ambient discourse in France." Source: The Guardian

Context

The shooting occurred amid mounting cost-of-living protests across France, with 70,000 police officers deployed for expected demonstrations on Saturday. Source: Al Jazeera Far-right voices have blamed the protests on Muslim youths, while left-wing groups say security measures violate rights. Source: Al Jazeera