Stabbing attack in Paris: what we know
The attack was committed in front of 10, rue Nicolas-Appert, in the 11th arrondissement of Paris.
AP Photo / Thibault Camus
Text by: RFI Follow
24 mins
A man attacked two people on Friday, September 25 with knives near the former Charlie Hebdo premises in Paris.
Seven people were arrested, including the alleged perpetrator.
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What happened
It was a little before noon when a man armed with a chopper attacked two people in front of 10, rue Nicolas-Appert, in the 11th arrondissement of Paris, where
Charlie Hebdo
had its premises during the January 2015 attack. two victims, a man and a woman in their thirties, are employees of the first lines news agency.
They were taking their “cigarette break” when they were assaulted.
"
A guy came out of nowhere and without saying anything, started hitting them, they screamed and luckily they had enough energy to flee and escape their attacker,
" said Paul Moreira, founder and co-manager of the agency.
Both were hit "
in the upper body
" and the man in the head, he said.
“
Their lives are not in danger,
” Prime Minister Jean Castex said.
In January 2015, frontline employees witnessed the attack on
Charlie Hebdo
.
Some had come to the aid of the survivors.
Since then, the editorial staff of the satirical newspaper has moved to new premises, the address of which is kept secret.
Seven people in custody
Two people were quickly arrested.
The first, an 18-year-old young man presented as the "
main perpetrator
" of the attack, was arrested near the Place de la Bastille.
According to a source close to the case cited by Agence France-Presse, he was born in Pakistan.
Arrived in France "
three years ago, as an isolated minor
", according to the Minister of the Interior Gerald Darmanin, he presented "
no sign of radicalization
", affirmed the departmental council of Val-d'Oise, which the supported through social assistance to children.
Another man, 33, was also arrested shortly after the attack "in
order to carry out a number of checks
" on "
his relations with the main perpetrator
," said Jean-François Ricard, the head of the national anti-terrorism prosecution, in charge of the investigation.
Later that evening, a judicial source reported to AFP that five other people were arrested during a search in Pantin (north of Paris), at one of the supposed homes of the main suspect.
The five men, born between 1983 and 1996, were taken into police custody.
The national anti-terrorism prosecutor's office seized
A judicial investigation for "
attempted assassination in connection with a terrorist enterprise
" and "
criminal terrorist criminal association
" has been opened.
The national anti-terrorism prosecution (Pnat) has announced that it has been seized of the investigation.
It was entrusted to the Paris judicial police and to the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI)
Three reasons justify the referral to Pnat, explained the Paris prosecutor: “
First, the location [of the attack], precisely in front of the building where the
Charlie Hebdo
editorial staff was previously located
.
Secondly, having regard to the moment of the realization of these facts, that is to say at the time of the trial of the perpetrators of the January 2015 attacks. And finally, taking into account the materialization of the facts, that is to say of the author's manifest desire to kill two people, whom he knew nothing about and who were, at that time, on a cigarette break.
"
This attack “
clearly
represents
an act of Islamist terrorism
”, declared the Minister of the Interior Gerald Darmanin on the France 2 television channel. “
Obviously, there is little doubt, it is a new bloody attack against our country.
".
The context
This attack took place during the trial of the January 2015 attacks, and the editorial staff of
Charlie Hebdo
is the subject of new threats.
On the occasion of the opening of the hearings, on September 2, the satirical newspaper decided to republish the cartoons of Muhammad, who made him the target of jihadists since 2006. A few days ago, the director of human resources had to being exfiltrated from her home because of threats considered serious.
In support, nearly a hundred media published an open letter on Wednesday calling on the French to mobilize for freedom of expression.
Attack near former Charlie Hebdo premises - special edition
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