Macron Calls Drive-By Shooting Near Paris a 'Racist Terrorist Attack' After Gunman Kills One and Wounds Five, Including a 12-Year-Old Girl

French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday described a shooting spree in the Paris suburbs that killed one person and wounded five others as "a racist terrorist attack," the BBC reported. Visiting the scene in Trappes, Macron called it a "turning point in the life of our Republic and our nation" and said people had been targeted for their skin color or religion.

The attack unfolded over roughly 15 minutes on Friday morning as a gunman fired from his car, first in Trappes, southwest of Paris, and then in neighboring La Verrière, in the Yvelines department, according to the BBC and France 24. A source close to the case told France 24 the shooting began around 10:30 a.m. local time.

France's National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office, known as PNAT, opened an investigation for "murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise, with the circumstance that the acts were committed because of the real or supposed membership of a so-called race, ethnicity, nation or religion," France 24 reported. The investigation also covers possession of a Category A weapon, a classification that includes military-grade arms, and "conspiracy with a terrorist group for the purpose of preparing crimes against persons," according to the BBC. The motive has not been established.

According to France 24, the gunman, driving a gray Renault Clio, first fired bursts near a bus stop at Place Van Gogh in Trappes and then at several other locations, including near the post office, a small park, a gas station on the RN10 highway and a medical center. He then drove to La Verrière, where he fired near a pharmacy, the train station and on a residential street. Trappes Mayor Ali Rabeh said the man "fired randomly" and "wanted to cause carnage," the BBC reported.

The person killed was a 26-year-old man of African origin, according to the mayor, who was shot in the street near a playground in Trappes, France 24 reported. A 12-year-old girl was shot as she was returning from a swimming pool wearing a headscarf in La Verrière and was hit eight times, according to France 24. She was taken to Necker hospital, where her condition was stabilized. Her mother told the broadcaster RTL that she questioned whether her daughter's headscarf was the reason she was targeted. "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," the mother said, according to the BBC.

A 21-year-old man of North African origin was gravely wounded outside the gas station, and two maintenance workers, ages 29 and 47, were seriously wounded near the pharmacy in La Verrière, France 24 reported. The BBC reported that three of the wounded, including the girl, remained in serious condition.

Police detained the suspect less than 10 minutes after the first emergency calls, according to France 24, which reported that five officers from an anti-crime unit arrested him in Coignières. A police union official told the BBC he was detained in La Verrière on the N10 road. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said officers had "very probably" interrupted "a murderous journey in progress," France 24 reported.

The suspect is a 39-year-old French national from the nearby town of Plaisir, identified in French media only by his first name and last initial, according to the BBC and France 24. He was known to police for ordinary offenses, including theft, shoplifting and drug offenses, but not to intelligence services, and he was not listed as part of the far-right movement, France 24 reported. PNAT said he had four prior convictions that had been automatically expunged, according to the BBC. A member of his immediate family was also taken into custody Friday, the prosecutor's office told BFMTV. He has not been charged in court, and he is presumed innocent.

A police official told BFMTV the suspect used "an older-style semi-automatic weapon" that fired in bursts, the BBC reported. According to initial findings reported by France 24, it appeared to be a Sten Mk II submachine gun dating to World War II, and several tear gas grenades were found in his car. His apartment building was evacuated after police found gas canisters at his home, an AFP journalist observed, according to France 24.

Nuñez, who visited Trappes with Aurore Bergé, the minister responsible for fighting discrimination, called the shooting "a terrorist crime" and "an extremely serious act," France 24 reported. Rabeh said the attack was "objectively an attack with racist, probably Islamophobic connotations" and possibly "one of the first attempts at a mass crime with Islamophobic and racist connotations." Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu called the events "very serious" and said all security and judicial resources were mobilized.

The shooting comes during a period of upheaval in France, which has seen nationwide protests and rioting in recent weeks, according to BBC coverage of the unrest.