Drive-By Shooting in Trappes and La Verriere Kills One and Injures Four Near Paris

A man opened fire from a car on public streets in Trappes and La Verriere, two neighbouring towns in the Yvelines department west of Paris, on Friday morning, October 23, killing one person and injuring four others. A police source told Reuters that one person had died and at least four others were injured in the drive-by shooting, and French broadcaster BFM reported that a suspect had been arrested. Euronews, citing the same police account, put the towns at about 25 to 30 kilometres south-west of Paris and said the shooting took place at around 10:30 a.m. local time.

Shots fired at several places in two towns

Le Figaro reported that the man fired in bursts from his car window, without distinction, in both towns. In Trappes the shots were reported near the post office, at Square Louis Pergaud and at a service station beside the RN10 road, and also near a nursery school and another children's square, the newspaper said. In La Verriere he also opened fire near the SNCF railway station and a pharmacy, according to Le Figaro. A police source told the newspaper that the attacker was driving a grey Renault Clio and used a submachine gun of the Sten type, a Second World War era weapon.

A 12-year-old girl among the injured

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez confirmed the first toll at a midday press conference: one dead and four injured, Le Figaro reported. The Yvelines prefecture said rescue services were still at work and that the toll was not yet stable, so the count could still change. A source told Le Figaro that one of the injured was a 12-year-old girl, seriously wounded. Ali Rabeh, the mayor of Trappes, told BFMTV that the man had fired shots from his car and, in his words, "appeared to be firing at random and seemed intent on carrying out a massacre." Rabeh said the shooter lived in a nearby town and that there was no information so far about his motives.

Suspect arrested on the RN10 in Coignieres

Police arrested the suspect quickly along the RN10 at Coignieres, a town close to both scenes, Le Figaro and Euronews reported. French media named the suspect as Kevin T. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu wrote on X that the suspect had been arrested and placed in custody, and that all the resources of the security forces and the judicial authorities were fully mobilised.

Anti-terrorism prosecutors take up the case

The national anti-terrorism prosecutor's office told Le Figaro it was placing itself in observation on the case, and Lecornu confirmed on X that the office was monitoring the situation. Le Figaro's live coverage later reported that the anti-terrorism prosecutors had taken over the case, under a headline saying the shooter had wanted to carry out carnage. No motive had been established in the first official statements, and representatives of the prosecutor's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters reported. Local authorities said they were still assessing the toll, which could change as the injured are treated.