Gunfire from a car
The gunfire broke out around 10:30 a.m. on October 23, 2026, on public roads in the two communities in the Yvelines department.
Trappes Mayor Ali Rabeh told BFMTV that the man fired from his car and "appeared to be firing at random and seemed intent on carrying out a massacre". Rabeh said the shooter lived in a nearby town, but no motive was known at that stage. Le Parisien reported that the weapon used was a World War II-era STEN-type submachine gun.
The wounded included a 12-year-old girl whose condition had stabilized, La Verrière Mayor Nicolas Dainville told BFMTV. He also reported that two men, ages 29 and 49, had been hit and taken to separate hospitals.
Suspect in custody as terrorism inquiry opens
Police arrested the suspect in nearby Coignières and placed him in police custody. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu confirmed both the arrest and custody placement on October 23.
France's National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office, known as PNAT, opened an investigation under the flagrancy procedure into assassination in connection with a terrorist enterprise. The investigation includes the aggravating circumstance of acts committed because of a person's actual or perceived membership in a particular race, ethnicity, nation or religion.
The other charges under investigation are attempted assassinations in connection with a terrorist enterprise, possession of a category A weapon and terrorist criminal association. The SDAT, zonal national police directorates and the DGSI were assigned to investigate.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said at a press conference that he would visit the scene.
France prepares for Saturday protests
Separately, France was preparing for another day of protests over the high cost of living on Saturday, according to the Associated Press. Major museums were closing, and the government was deploying a substantially larger security presence in an effort to prevent a repeat of the previous week's violent unrest.
