France charges man, 39, over racist shooting near Paris
Prosecutors say Kevin T. admitted targeting people who appeared Muslim, African or North African in the October 23 attack that killed a 26-year-old and wounded seven.
French anti-terrorism prosecutors have charged a 39-year-old man with murder and attempted murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise over a shooting west of Paris that killed one man and wounded seven people, including a child.
The suspect, identified by prosecutors as Kevin T., admitted during questioning to "targeting individuals who appeared to be Muslim, African, or North African", the national anti-terrorism prosecutor's office (PNAT) said on Thursday, according to Africanews. His lawyers said he was placed in pre-trial detention.
Prosecutors say he opened fire with a submachine gun from a moving vehicle on 23 October as he drove through Trappes and La Verrière, two towns west of Paris. He was arrested later that day. Most of the wounded were of foreign origin, Africanews reported.
The man killed was Pengo Bossio Wangi, 26. On Monday his family held a press conference in Paris and said they hoped the case would produce "an awakening" against racism in France.
Bolema Bossio Wangi, his father, said he wanted the national tribute planned for the victims to be "an opportunity for genuine awareness and a real commitment against racism". Speaking through his daughter, he said: "As the father of Black children, I am afraid for their future, their safety and for the place they will be able to occupy in French society."
The family's lawyer, Zineb Alami, said the victims were being cast as outsiders in their own country. "The people we're talking about here are French, and in the end, they're being dehumanised. They're turned into targets, into people who are seen as suspect, as illegitimate," she said. "People are pretty much being asked to justify why they're even in their own country."
A national tribute to the victims is expected in the coming days.
Africanews reported that the attack came in an increasingly tense political climate, six months before France's presidential election, with the far-right leader Marine Le Pen leading opinion polls. It also noted scrutiny of the role of the media in platforming far-right views.
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