After the attack on the Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption basilica in Nice, where three people lost their lives, a 47-year-old man was taken into police custody.
He is suspected of having spoken with the assailant the day before the attack.
A 47-year-old man, suspected of having been in contact with the assailant who killed three people in the Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption basilica in Nice, was taken into police custody on Thursday evening, he said. - we learned Friday from a judicial source.
The alleged perpetrator of the fatal knife attack on a man and two women is a 21-year-old Tunisian who arrived in France in October from Italy.
The man in custody is suspected of having been in contact with him the day before the events, said the judicial source and a source close to the case, confirming information from the daily Nice-Matin.
The source close to the matter, however, called for caution as to the nature of their exchanges.
According to a second source close to the case, the man was arrested at 9:50 p.m.
Three people killed in the attack
The assailant entered the basilica at 8:29 a.m. on Thursday, where he slaughtered a 60-year-old woman and the 55-year-old sacristan.
A 44-year-old Brazilian mother residing in France, affected several times, died in a nearby restaurant where she had taken refuge.
Alerted by a witness, a team of the municipal police intervened and fired several times on the assailant who "had advanced towards them in a threatening manner while shouting 'Allah Akbar'", recounted the anti-terrorism prosecutor Jean-François Ricard during a press point on Thursday evening.
Seriously injured, he was taken to the hospital where he was operated on.
"His vital prognosis remains currently engaged," said Jean-François Ricard Thursday evening.
The perpetrator of the attack unknown to the intelligence services
In the basilica, investigators found the murder weapon, a knife with a 17 cm blade, according to Jean-François Ricard.
A bag of personal effects, a Koran and two phones, as well as two unused knives were also found.
The assailant, unknown to the intelligence services, was identified by a document from the Italian Red Cross.
According to initial investigations, it arrived in Europe via the Italian island of Lampedusa on September 20, before disembarking on the mainland at Bari on October 9.
The investigation, opened by the national anti-terrorism prosecution, in particular for "terrorist assassinations and attempted assassinations", is coordinated by the Anti-terrorism Sub-Directorate (Sdat).