A man suspected of a gun attack in the Paris suburbs last week that killed one person and wounded five including a child has admitted to "targeting individuals who appeared to be Muslim, African, or North African," prosecutors said on Thursday.
Earlier this week the 39-year-old man, identified as Kevin T., had said he did not "dispute the material facts", but contested "the racist nature of his crimes".
On Thursday, national terrorism prosecutor Olivier Christen told a news conference that Kevin T. now claims he chose the location for his actions because it was "a hotbed for Islamists".
The victims were shot from a vehicle driving through the towns of Trappes and La Verriere west of Paris. The suspect was detained later Friday with a machine gun and tear-gas grenades in his car.
He has since been held in police custody and was set to appear before a judge later on Thursday, Christen said, noting that he had requested that he be held in pretrial detention.
Of the four people seriously injured in the attack, "three of the victims remain hospitalised as I speak, and one of them is still in life-threatening condition," Christen said.
He noted the "very high level of preparation" behind the attack.
Kevin T. nevertheless denied any "terrorist intent," viewing his actions as "legitimate," the prosecutor said.
The opening of a judicial investigation by the office of the national anti-terrorism prosecutor (PNAT) allows a judge to take charge of the case, specifically regarding charges of "murder and attempted murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise".
A search of the suspect's home had uncovered "weapons or weapon components, specifically a magazine, two pairs of brass knuckles, a steel bayonet, and a silencer," Christen said.
Also found were several "books, including a Quran, a Bible, and Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf", as well as stickers celebrating the far-right National Rally (RN) party.
Christen said the stickers bore slogans such as "Long live France, RN, proud to be French", but they were not produced by the party led by Marine Le Pen, who is leading opinion polls to succeed Emmanuel Macron as French president in elections next spring.
Kevin T. had told investigators that "he designed the stickers found in his home himself, and then ordered them to be manufactured via Amazon more than a year ago."
The suspect had said that "he is neither a member of nor a sympathiser with any political party", Christen said.
