A man killed three people at the Notre-Dame basilica in Nice -

Valery HACHE / AFP

  • Two women and a man were killed with knives in the Notre-Dame basilica in Nice.

  • The alleged assailant was seriously injured by municipal police.

  • The national anti-terrorism prosecution has opened an investigation for "murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise"

Once again, the horror.

Less than two weeks after the beheading of Samuel Paty in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, three people were killed this Thursday morning in the Notre-Dame basilica in Nice.

The alleged assailant, shot and wounded by municipal police, was taken to hospital.

The national anti-terrorism prosecution has opened a flagrant investigation for "assassination in connection with a terrorist enterprise, attempted assassination in connection with a terrorist enterprise and criminal terrorist association" and entrusted the investigations to the central direction of the judicial police and at the DGSI.

What happened ?

The scenario of this new attack recalls the one perpetrated in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray in 2016, which led to the death of Father Hamel.

The assailant burst into Notre-Dame Basilica around 9 a.m. when no religious service was being celebrated there.

According to information collected by 

20 Minutes 

from police sources, the man first slit the throat of a woman of about 70 years within the very walls of the building.

He then attacked the sacristan of the basilica, a layman aged around 45, who died after receiving several stab wounds.

The third victim is a woman who managed to get out of the religious building to take refuge in a nearby bar, where she eventually succumbed to her injuries.

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The neutralized suspect

The municipal police, very present in this lively district of downtown Nice, were quickly alerted by a resident, who witnessed the attack.

The assailant was wounded by several bullets and transported in serious condition to the Pasteur hospital in the city.

According to a source close to the file cited by AFP, the man who did not have identity papers on him said his name was "Brahim" and to be 25 years old.

Information which has not, for the time being, been able to be confirmed by the various investigating services seized.

Terrorist trail

If the investigation is only in its infancy, the trail of a new terrorist attack is privileged.

According to the first testimonies, the man would have shouted several times "Allahu Akbar" when taking action, specified a source close to the file.

The mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, said that during his transport to the hospital, the man continued to make these comments.

The many CCTV cameras present in the city should make it possible to quickly retrace the path of the attacker.

Have there been any spotting the previous days?

How did the attack go?

Have the victims been specifically targeted?

So many questions that the survey will now have to answer.

Nice

Knife attack in Nice: Three victims killed in the attack on a church, a suspect arrested

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