Suspect in racist gun attack near Paris transferred to psychiatric unit

A man suspected of a gun attack in the Paris suburbs that killed one person and wounded five has left custody and been placed in a psychiatric unit for observation, French anti-terror prosecutors said Sunday.

The 39-year-old suspect, partly identified as Kevin T., was arrested Friday in possession of a submachine gun and tear-gas grenades in his car, shortly after the victims were shot as a vehicle drove through the working-class town of Trappes and neighbouring La Verrière.

President Emmanuel Macron had branded the shooting a "racist terrorist attack", as most of the victims were from foreign backgrounds.

Read moreMacron says 'racist terrorist attack’ in Trappes marks turning point for France

The French National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office (PNAT), which is handling the case, on Saturday extended the suspect's time in detention to pursue its interrogation.

But on Sunday, the PNAT said: "After a psychiatric examination of Kevin T. carried out in the evening (of Saturday), his custody has been lifted."

It said that, in line with conclusions from a psychiatric expert, he "was transferred to the police psychiatric unit to be subjected to a psychiatric observation period likely to last 48 hours".

That observation period "should allow us to evaluate whether his state of psychiatric health is compatible with pursuing his interrogation sessions".

Macron condemns racist terrorist attack in Paris suburb

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The PNAT added that traces of cannabis and cocaine were also found in the suspect's blood.

Police have searched the suspected gunman's home in the town of Plaisir outside of Paris.

According to a source close to the investigation on Saturday, they found a Bible, a Quran and a copy of Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf".

The person killed in Friday's shooting was a 26-year-old man of Congolese origin, Pengo Bossio Wangi. 

One of those wounded was a 12-year-old girl who was hit by bullets eight times. She remains in a critical condition.

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The shooting comes at a moment of deep divisions in France, which is heading for elections in six months' time with far-right candidate Marine Le Pen leading in the polls.

Political and social tensions boiled over a week ago into riots that have marred the country's image ahead of the vote to choose Macron's successor.