Macron calls Paris-area shooting a 'racist terrorist attack' as suspect is held

French President Emmanuel Macron has described a shooting in the suburbs of Paris that left one person dead and five others wounded as "a racist terrorist attack". He said it marked a "turning point in the life of our Republic and our nation", adding that it was the first time France had seen a random racial killing of this kind.

The violence lasted about 15 minutes. The attacker fired from his car, first in Trappes, south-west of Paris, and then in the neighbouring town of La Verrière. He appeared to be aiming at people of migrant origin and was later arrested. Three of the wounded, among them a 12-year-old girl, remain in a serious condition.

Speaking during a visit to the scene, Macron said victims had been singled out because of their skin colour or religion. He urged the public not to "give an inch" against what he called "ideologies taking root".

The precise motive has not been established. The National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor's Office (PNAT) said the case appeared to be "murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise". Its investigation also covers possession of a Category A weapon, a classification that includes military-grade arms and weapons able to fire in bursts, as well as conspiracy with a terrorist group to prepare crimes against persons.

French media have named the suspect as Kevin T, aged 39. According to PNAT, he had four previous convictions that had been "automatically expunged". Local media report that he was known to police but not to the country's intelligence services. The prosecutor's office told BFMTV he was not on a list of people regarded as a serious threat to French security. A member of his "immediate family circle" was also taken into custody on Friday.

Witnesses said the gunman drove through several neighbourhoods in a grey Renault Clio. Trappes mayor Ali Rabeh said he "fired randomly", apparently hoping to cause "as many casualties as possible". "He wanted to cause carnage," Rabeh said. People were targeted at a petrol station, a medical centre and a playground in Trappes before the attacker continued to La Verrière, where a police union official said he was detained on the town's main road.

The mother of the injured 12-year-old told broadcaster RTL that her daughter had suffered eight gunshot wounds and needed surgery. "How could anyone do this to a child?" she asked. She said her daughter had been wearing a headscarf and wondered whether that was the reason she was attacked. "She's a child who was born in France, in Trappes. She has the right to live in France, to make her life in France."

A local police chief told BFMTV the suspect used "an older-style semi-automatic weapon". Le Parisien reported that the firearm dated back to World War Two.