Attack in Paris: the profile of the main suspect intrigues

The attack was sudden, in the heart of Paris.

A young man armed with a knife seriously injured two people near the former premises of

, Friday noon in the 11th district of the capital.

The main suspect, 18 years old and born in Pakistan, was quickly arrested a few hundred meters from the scene of the attack and admitted the facts.

A second person was also arrested, but investigators remain cautious about his possible involvement.

The anti-terrorism prosecution has been seized of the investigation, even if the author's motives remain unclear for the moment.

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Pakistan-born 18-year-old unknown to intelligence

The young man arrested first, born in Pakistan, has been described as "the main perpetrator" by Jean-François Ricard, the head of the national anti-terrorism prosecutor's office (Pnat).

Aged 18, he is already known to the police for having been arrested last June at the Gare du Nord in Paris with a bladed weapon on him.

However, investigators do not know how long he has been on French soil.

The intelligence services have never heard of him.

Searches were underway at the end of the day in Cergy, near Paris, on Friday to verify the young man's last known address, in a "hotel-foyer", according to a police source at AFP.

But he did not necessarily live there, said another police source, according to whom he was "roaming".

He admitted the facts but his motivations remain unknown at this point.

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Investigators cautious about the involvement of the second suspect

Another man was arrested at a metro station near the scene of the attack.

The second suspect is 23 years old and was born in Algeria, according to information from Europe 1. But investigators remain cautious about his possible involvement.

He was seen talking with the young Pakistani on public transport, prompting the police to "carry out a number of checks" on "his relationship with the main perpetrator".

The two men are currently in custody in the anti-terrorist section of the criminal squad.

But the place, near the former premises of

, the date, in the middle of the trial of the January 2015 attacks, and the modus operandi prompted the national anti-terrorist prosecution to take up the case.