One German vacationer died and two others had been injured after a person attacked vacationers in central Paris close to the Eiffel Tower on Saturday night.
President Emmanuel Macron described it as “a terrorist attack,” whereas police rapidly arrested a 26-year-old French nationwide, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin informed reporters Saturday.
The suspect had been sentenced to 4 years in jail in 2016 for planning one other assault, was on the French safety companies’ watchlist and was additionally identified for having psychiatric problems, the inside minister added.
The assault happened round 7 p.m. GMT when the person attacked a vacationer couple with a knife on the Quai de Grenelle, a couple of ft away from the Eiffel Tower, mortally wounding a German nationwide. He was then chased by police and attacked two different individuals with a hammer earlier than being arrested.
The suspect reportedly informed police he was upset as a result of “so many Muslims are dying in Afghanistan and in Palestine” and was additionally upset concerning the Gaza scenario, Darmanin added.
“I send all my condolences to the family and loved ones of the German national who died this evening during the terrorist attack in Paris and think with emotion of the people currently injured and in care,” President Macron stated on social community platform X.
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne expressed defiance within the face of such assaults.
“We will not give in to terrorism,” she wrote on X.
French anti-terrorism prosecutors are main the investigation into Saturday evening’s incident.
The assault in central Paris occurred lower than eight months earlier than the French capital hosts the Olympic Games and will increase questions on safety on the world sporting occasion.
The metropolis is planning an unprecedented opening ceremony on the Seine river, with the potential to draw as many as 600,000 spectators.
Source: www.dailysabah.com