Politics · 2026-10-23 · Afternoon briefing

France investigates deadly Paris suburb shooting as terrorism

French authorities are investigating a drive-by shooting across the Parisian suburbs of Trappes and La Verrière as an act of terrorism. A gunman killed one person and wounded five others, three of them seriously, during a rampage on Friday that lasted almost 15 minutes. The National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor's Office has opened an investigation for "murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise".

The mayor of Trappes, Ali Rabeh, said the attacker fired "randomly" from his vehicle with the intent to "cause carnage", targeting a health centre, a petrol station, and a playground. The 39-year-old suspect, who was later arrested, was known to police for other offences but not to France's intelligence services. He reportedly used an older-style semi-automatic weapon capable of firing in bursts.

The prosecutor's investigation includes possession of a Category A weapon, a classification for military-grade arms, and is also examining a potential "conspiracy with a terrorist group". While the interior minister, Laurent Nuñez, declared the incident a "terrorist crime", the mayor of Trappes suggested the attack had a "racist, probably Islamophobic overtone".

Summary written by Cup of News with AI from the sources below. Check the originals for the full story.

Read the sources

• Deadly shooting in Paris suburb may be terrorist act, officials say
• Man Goes on ‘Murderous Rampage’ With Automatic Weapon in France
• Racist terrorist using military-grade weapon kills one, injures several others — including girl — in Paris suburb
• Deadly shooting near Paris investigated as 'crime of terrorism', minister says
• French prosecutors open hate crime probe after deadly drive-by shooting

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