“Terrorist Attack” in Paris Leaves One Dead and Two Injured
Police at the Crime scene. (Source EPA)
A German man and two others were injured in a knife-hammer attack in Central Paris.
The incident was near the Eiffel Tower on Quai de Grenelle at 9 pm (local time) on Saturday.
The suspect, Armand R,26, was arrested on suspicion of assassination.
Prosecutor Jean-François Ricard said, “The suspect had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group (IS).”
The anti-terrorism and prosecutors started an investigation regarding the attack.
On Sunday, Ricard said in a briefing that Armand R, a French national born in France to Iranian parents, pledged in a video posted on social media.
“He converted to Islam aged 18, and was imprisoned in 2016 for four years after making plans to travel to Syria to join IS.”
Police said the suspect was due to be treated for psychiatric problems.
Mr. Ricard added, “The suspect had been under surveillance for suspected extremism and that three associates, including members of his family, had been detained for questioning.”
The victim who died was a German tourist who worked as a nurse.
France’s Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said, “The victim was with his wife when he was attacked and fatally stabbed on Quai de Grenelle.”
A taxi driver saved the wife’s life while the suspect escaped across a nearby bridge travelling the River Seine.
‘Terrorist attack”
After he crossed the north side of the river, he attacked two more people: a French man aged around 60 and a 66-year-old British tourist who got hit in the eye with a hammer.
Police tasered the suspect and arrested him on suspicion of assassination.
The two injured victims received treatment by emergency services.
On Sunday, Health Minister Aurélien Rousseau told French media they were “in good health”.
Darmanin said the alleged attacker was heard shouting “Allahu Akbar”, Arabic for “God is greatest”, and told police he was upset because “so many Muslims are dying in Afghanistan and in Palestine”.
A surfaced on social media showing the suspect criticizing the French government and discussing what he expresses as “the murder of innocent Muslims.”
French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X his condolences to those affected by the “terrorist attack.”
“The national anti-terrorist prosecutor’s office will now be responsible for shedding light on this affair so that justice can be done in the name of the French people,” he said.
