A man has been arrested in connection with a drive-by shooting targeting Black and Arab individuals in the Paris suburb of Trappes, a government official described as a racially motivated terrorist attack. The incident occurred on Friday and resulted in the death of one person and injuries to five others, including a 12-year-old girl.

The suspect, identified as Kevin T, reportedly admitted to selecting victims based on their ethnicity as an act of retaliation for looting during recent student protests and Yellow Vest demonstrations in Paris. Authorities apprehended him after he drove to the nearby commune of La Verrière and confessed to being motivated by racist ideology.

Police recovered a sub-machine gun and tear-gas grenades from his vehicle, as well as cocaine. Toxicology tests indicated the presence of both cannabis and cocaine in his system at the time of arrest. Officers described the suspect's demeanor as calm and stoic following his capture.

Further investigation at his residence in Plaisir uncovered booby traps involving gas cylinders and electrical wiring connected to a timer. Among the items found in the home were copies of Mein Kampf, a Bible, and a Koran, according to the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office.

Following his arrest, Kevin T was released to undergo a psychiatric evaluation, a decision that drew criticism from the family of Pengo Bossio Wangi, a 26-year-old amateur mixed martial artist who was killed in the attack. Yassine Bouzrou, the family’s lawyer, expressed concern that psychiatric assessments are sometimes used to deflect attention from extremist motives, particularly in cases involving far-right violence.

“When the attack comes from the far-right, the psychiatric issue is raised very quickly,” Bouzrou said. “The perpetrator is necessarily a deranged individual. This question is almost never raised with the same insistence when the attack is Islamist-motivated.”

Authorities continue to probe the attack and the suspect’s motivations amid wider concerns about racially motivated violence in France.