The French public prosecutor in charge of working on terrorism files, Jean-Francois Ricard, said that the culprit who killed the French teacher, Samuel Bate, on Friday, was a Russian refugee of Chechen origin.
Meanwhile, French police sources said that 9 people were being questioned, who were arrested in connection with the attack that took place in broad daylight on a street in the suburbs of Paris.
Prosecutor Ricard added that the perpetrator was not known for his extremism among the French intelligence services, and the public prosecutor added that investigations are still ongoing, and nine people have so far been arrested for investigation.
The public prosecutor in charge of terrorism cases stated that the attacker was present in the vicinity of the middle school where Samuel Patti (47 years) is studying at midday yesterday, and that he asked a number of students to guide him to the victim.
Ricard also confirmed that examining the attacker's phone led to the discovery of a letter in which the perpetrator adopts the assassination of the teacher, in which he justifies his crime with revenge for the Prophet, may blessings and peace be upon him, in addition to a picture of the victim's severed head, as well as a pistol, 5 cartridges and a dagger.
The public prosecutor said that the perpetrator, who was killed by police fire after being wounded with 9 bullets, threatened the policemen with his dagger, then fired at them.
Register of the assailant
According to the public prosecutor, the perpetrator is 18 years old, and he received a residence permit in France last March. He lives with his family in the city of "Evro" (west of Paris), and he has no criminal record with the French police, and it is not known. I have the queries to extremes.
The murder shocked France, and brought back to mind the attack that targeted the headquarters of the satirical "Charlie Hebdo" magazine 5 years ago, after it published cartoons offensive to the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace.
Investigators are trying to find out if the attacker acted alone or had accomplices.
Macron: The teacher is a victim of an "Islamic terrorist" attack (Reuters)
French President Emmanuel Macron said during a visit to the scene of the crime that the teacher had been a victim of what he called an "Islamic terrorist" attack.
Macron’s office announced today a "patriotic memorial" for the dead teacher.
French Prime Minister John Castex stated that the killing of the teacher in the Conflans-Saint-Honorine region represented an "unacceptable violation of the foundations of the republic."
Interrogation of detainees And
the French police arrested 9 people as part of the investigation into the teacher's death, including two of the brothers of the attacker and his grandfather, and the French Press Agency quoted a judicial source that among the detainees also the parents of a student at the school where Samuel Patti taught, and friends of the perpetrator of the attack.
The judicial source added that the arrested parents expressed their opposition to the murdered teacher’s decision to display insulting cartoons of the Prophet, peace be upon him, in the classroom.
The French police said that the victim was a history professor who recently showed cartoons of the noble Prophet during a class in the context of a debate on freedom of expression, and complaints from some of the families followed.
Friday's attack came at a time when the trial sessions of 14 defendants who participated in an armed attack that took place in January 2015 against the headquarters of "Charlie Hebdo" magazine are continuing.