A man naked and threatening in a TGV linking Stuttgart to Paris was arrested Tuesday morning at the station of Champagne-Ardenne, and the train was briefly evacuated, we learned from the floor.
"The police were required following an individual who, it seems, had locked himself in the toilet after undressing," told AFP the prosecutor of the Republic of Reims, Matthieu Bourrette, confirming RTL information. "The words 'Allah Akbar' were said to have been uttered, but we are also told different terms, so I am extremely careful," he said. Several witnesses, passengers or staff on board the train, were interviewed.
The man calls himself Moroccan and would be 22 or 23 years old
The suspect, whose investigators do not currently have "any item of civil status" according to the prosecution, was placed in custody for apology terrorism and sexual exhibition. There is reason to "be cautious about the notion of apology for terrorism," insisted Matthieu Bourrette. He said that the suspect "does not have all his faculties". According to a source close to the survey, the man is Moroccan and would be 22 or 23 years old. The visit of a doctor is expected as well as a "removal of doubts" on the possibly terrorist nature of the incident.
The TGV, which connected Stuttgart to Paris, should not stop initially in Champagne-Ardenne station, located 5 kilometers from Reims. It was the agents on board the train who requested a "forced stop", said a spokesman for the SNCF. The train was evacuated so that a search could be conducted and it left around 11:15, that is 1:15 later, "once all the guarantees of security" had been met.