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The National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office said the 39-year-old suspect known as Kevin T. underwent a psychiatric examination on Saturday evening following the deadly attack two days earlier. In line with the expert’s conclusions his police custody was lifted on Sunday and he was moved to the psychiatric infirmary of the Paris police prefecture for an observation period expected to last up to 48 hours. That assessment will determine whether his mental state is compatible with resuming interrogation sessions the office stated. The move came after prosecutors had extended his detention on Saturday to allow further questioning in the terrorism investigation.
The shooting unfolded on the morning of October 23 as the suspect fired bursts from a submachine gun while driving through the working-class towns of Trappes and neighbouring La Verrière west of Paris. He killed 26-year-old Pengo Bossio Wangi a French national of African origin and wounded five other people including a 12-year-old girl who was struck eight times and remained in critical condition. Three of the injured were still listed in serious condition according to hospital updates relayed by multiple outlets including Reuters.
President Emmanuel Macron visited the scene and described the incident as a racist terrorist attack that represented a turning point for the country. “What happened today is I am telling you a turning point because it is the first time we have had a terrorist act that was planned to kill our compatriots our children based on the colour of their skin or their religion” he told reporters. The Trappes mayor Ali Rabeh whose parents are from Morocco labelled the shooting racist and Islamophobic saying the attacker had targeted people at a petrol station a medical centre and a playground with the aim of causing maximum casualties.
Searches of the suspect’s home turned up a Bible a Quran and a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf according to Le Monde and AFP which cited sources close to the investigation. Authorities also discovered three gas cylinders connected to electrical wires and a timer at the property. The National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office separately confirmed that toxicology results showed cannabis and cocaine in the suspect’s bloodstream.
Kevin T. who had four previous convictions that had been automatically expunged was arrested shortly after the rampage while still in possession of the submachine gun and tear-gas grenades. Four members of his family and social circle including his mother and father remain in custody as investigators pursue potential accomplices or prior knowledge of the attack. The anti-terrorism office stressed that suspending the suspect’s custody did not amount to his release and that the probe continued without interruption.
Yassine Bouzrou the lawyer representing the family of the man who was killed voiced surprise at the rapid shift to psychiatric evaluation. “This decision cannot fail to surprise us because in practice such cases are very rare” Bouzrou said in remarks carried by Le Temps and France 24. He highlighted what he called a worrying pattern in which far-right attackers are quickly characterised as mentally unbalanced.
The case has drawn renewed attention to extremist violence and mental health assessments in terrorism-related inquiries in France where similar attacks have occurred in recent years. Prosecutors have not yet established a definitive motive but continue to treat the shootings as a terrorist enterprise with racist intent. Further updates on the suspect’s condition and the investigation are expected once the observation period concludes.
