1 Dead, 4 Wounded in France Drive-By Shooting

Gunfire from a moving car shattered a suburban Paris morning on Friday, leaving one person dead and four injured, including a 12-year-old girl shot eight times, authorities say. The attack unfolded in Trappes and nearby La Verrière, where the suspect allegedly fired in bursts from his vehicle around 10:30am before being arrested in Coignières, reports France 24. Prosecutors have opened a terrorism-linked murder investigation and are examining whether the victims were targeted over their perceived race, ethnicity, nationality, or religion. Local officials said at least two victims are of African or North African origin.

The suspect fired "what appears to have been a military-grade weapon, or at least an automatic weapon," said Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, per the Washington Post. Trappes Mayor Ali Rabeh described the shooter as "firing at random, wanting to cause a bloodbath" and called it a "miracle" more people were not killed in the attack that targeted a health clinic, gas station, and several vehicles. Per the BBC, President Emmanuel Macron said: "Our thoughts go out to the victims, their families, as well as all the people of Yvelines. In this terrible ordeal, the nation stands by their side."