A German vacationer died and two different individuals, together with a British citizen, have been harm after an assault by a person armed with a knife and a hammer close to the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Saturday, in what President Emmanuel Macron described as « a terrorist attack ».
Police rapidly arrested the 26-year-old man, a French nationwide, after subduing him with a Taser stun gun, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin instructed reporters on Saturday.
The suspect had in 2016 been sentenced to 4 years in jail for planning one other assault, and had been on the French safety providers’ watch listing, the minister mentioned, including that he was additionally identified for having psychiatric issues.
The man attacked a vacationer couple at round 1900 GMT with a knife on the Quai de Grenelle, a couple of ft away from the Eiffel Tower, mortally wounding the German nationwide.
He was then chased by police and attacked two different individuals with a hammer, together with the Briton, earlier than being arrested.
« We are supporting a British man who was injured in Paris and are in contact with the local authorities,” a spokesperson for the British foreign ministry said.
The suspect had shouted out « Allahu akbar » (God is Greatest) and told police he was upset because « so many Muslims are dying in Afghanistan and in Palestine » and was also upset about the Gaza situation, Darmanin said.
French anti-terrorism prosecutors are leading an investigation into the incident.
European security officials have warned of a growing risk of attacks by Islamists amid the Israel-Hamas war, with the biggest threat likely from « lone wolf » assailants who are hard to track.
« I ship all my condolences to the household and family members of the German nationwide who died this night throughout the terrorist assault in Paris and assume with emotion of the individuals at present injured and in care, » President Macron said on the social network platform X.
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne expressed defiance in the face of such attacks, saying on X: « We won’t give in to terrorism. »
France has been on high alert since raising its security threshold in October, when a Chechen-origin man with a knife killed a teacher in a school in northern France.
The attack in central Paris comes less than eight months before the French capital is due to host the Olympic Games and could raise questions about security at the global sporting event.
The city was planning an opening ceremony on the Seine river with the potential to attract as many as 600,000 spectators.
Opponents to President Emmanuel Macron were quick to react.
Jordan Bardella, president of Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party, the largest single opposition party in parliament, said on X: « The French will surprise how a person on a watchlist already convicted of getting deliberate an assault, who was a infamous psychiatric case, within the present context, was capable of stroll freely and armed on a Saturday night by means of the streets of Paris »
Didier Fleury, a 63-year previous entrepreneur who lives close to the positioning of the assault, instructed Reuters: “If we look at the news at the moment, you can’t be completely surprised by that. Since those are random attacks, it’s very complicated to prevent. We’ll probably have more. The holiday season is approaching and, unfortunately, I’m afraid it won’t be the last.”
Content Source: www.hindustantimes.com