At least one person was killed and at least four others were injured in a shooting in the Yvelines district west of Paris, and a suspect has been arrested, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Friday.
French authorities said a gunman opened fire from a car and that one of the four wounded was a 12-year-old girl. The shooting comes at a moment of particular tension in France, after nationwide protests turned violent last Saturday and ahead of possible unrest this coming weekend. Some on the far-right have blamed immigration for the violence.
Ali Rabeh, the mayor of the Yvelines town of Trappes, told BFMTV that a man had fired shots from his car and "appeared to be firing at random and seemed intent on carrying out a massacre". There was no information so far about his motives, he said.
Rabeh said the gunman was driving on a road from Trappes to neighbouring La Verriere and lived in a nearby town. Broadcaster BFM reported that the wounded 12-year-old girl had been hit eight times.
The anti-terrorism prosecutor's office said its investigation included looking at whether the shooting was a terrorist act or if it were racially or religiously motivated.
Lecornu wrote on X that security forces had been fully mobilised. "The national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office has announced that it is monitoring the situation," he added
President Emmanuel Macron, meanwhile, expressed "deep emotion" on the incident.The shooting comes at a moment of particular tension in France, after nationwide protests turned violent last Saturday and ahead of possible unrest this coming weekend.