Trappes Suspect Admits Targeting Muslims, Prosecutor Says

The Trappes shooting suspect has admitted deliberately targeting people he perceived as Muslim, African or North African, France’s national anti-terrorism prosecutor Olivier Christen said on Thursday (Oct 29), according to AFP reports cited by Yabiladi.

The 39-year-old suspect, identified only as Kevin T., had earlier denied any racist motive. Christen said he has now also acknowledged that the attack was premeditated.

What the Trappes shooting suspect told investigators

According to the prosecutor, the suspect said he chose Trappes because he regarded it as a hotbed of Islamists. He denied having any terrorist intent, described his actions as legitimate and denied that he meant to kill children. Christen said the man showed “no regret”.

Investigators found about 30 stickers bearing pro-France and National Rally slogans at his home. Christen stressed that these were not official party materials, and the suspect said he had designed and ordered them himself.

The attack on Oct 23 killed Pengo Bossio Wangi, a 26-year-old Black Frenchman, and injured seven other people, including an 11-year-old girl whose life is no longer in danger. Three victims remain in hospital, one of them in critical condition, Yabiladi reported.

Racist terrorist attack, says Macron

Euronews reported on the day of the shooting that the gunman fired from his car while driving through Trappes and neighbouring La Verriere, southwest of Paris. A source familiar with the case said he was arrested in nearby Coignieres, and a police source said officers found a submachine gun and tear-gas grenades on him.

President Emmanuel Macron visited Trappes and condemned the shooting as a “racist terrorist attack”, while Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, who visited both towns, called it clearly a terrorist crime. Trappes mayor Ali Rabeh said the man had been firing at random.

Pre-trial detention requested

A judicial investigation has been opened into premeditated murder and attempted premeditated murder linked to a terrorist enterprise, aggravated by the victims’ actual or perceived race, ethnicity, nationality or religion.

The prosecutor asked for the suspect to be placed in pre-trial detention, with his appearance before a judge scheduled for Thursday. The outcome of that hearing had not been reported at the time of writing.

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