Antoine Bienvault / Photo credit: Thomas SAMSON / AFP 9:06 a.m., February 4, 2024
The day after the knife and hammer attack which left three people injured at the Gare de Lyon in Paris, the assailant's police custody was lifted because of his psychiatric condition. The man, a 32-year-old Malian living legally on French territory, must be seen by doctors to determine the continuation of the legal procedure.
Security is once again at the heart of concerns less than six months before the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after this knife and hammer attack on Saturday morning at the Gare de Lyon in Paris, which left three people injured. The vital prognosis of one of them was still engaged on Saturday evening. After undergoing a behavioral examination, the police custody of the attacker, a 32-year-old Malian who has Italian papers, was lifted because of his psychiatric condition.
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As always in this type of case, the suspect was placed in the psychiatric infirmary of the police headquarters. He will stay there until Sunday evening or Monday to be seen by doctors. This examination will determine the continuation of his detention. "If this individual really has psychiatric disorders, in this case, he will be transported to a psychiatric hospital to be interned there. Otherwise, he can actually be handed over to the judicial authorities because he can follow the classic process of a judicial investigation", explains Axel Ronde, spokesperson for the CFTC Police union.
The investigation continues while awaiting this verdict. In particular, we already know that this man was known to be homeless, a regular resident of the Gare de Lyon district.
A TikTok account at the heart of the investigation
Before being placed in a psychiatric unit, the attacker was interviewed by investigators. He explained his actions and mentioned conspiracy theories, as well as the French intervention in Mali. According to information from Europe 1, he made anti-France and anti-colonialist remarks to the police on social networks. A TikTok account bearing his name was also discovered. We see a man filming himself and making vehement remarks about France. This account, suspended on Saturday, followed by nearly 40,000 people, must still be identified to know if it is indeed the attacker who carried out the act at Gare de Lyon.