Europe 1 with AFP 10:31 p.m., January 12, 2023

A man who may have housed the one who injured six people on Wednesday morning at the Gare du Nord in Paris has been in police custody since Wednesday evening, while that of the attacker has been lifted to allow him to undergo further medical intervention , said the Paris prosecutor's office on Thursday.

The police custody of the man who injured six people for an undetermined reason on Wednesday morning at the Gare du Nord in Paris was lifted late Thursday afternoon for a new medical intervention, while another man, likely to have lodged him, was heard by the investigators.

Wounded by police officers, the attacker was operated on Wednesday, before being placed in police custody in the evening, his state of health having then been deemed compatible with such a measure.

But this custody was lifted late Thursday afternoon to allow the suspect to undergo a new medical intervention, said the Paris prosecutor's office, adding that his identity had still not been formally established.

He had been shot twice in the chest and once in the arm after a police officer from the border police (PAF), in uniform and on duty, and another from the Ile-de-France network brigade (BRF), in civilian clothes and off service, who were on the scene had opened fire.

In addition, two other men were also taken into custody as part of this investigation.

One of them, likely to have housed the attacker, was on Wednesday evening and saw this measure extended Thursday evening.

The other, likely for his part to have exchanged with the attacker shortly before the facts, was also placed in police custody Thursday morning but was released without prosecution at this stage at the end of the afternoon.

The reasons for the attack still unknown

Investigators are trying to understand the reasons that led the attacker, a man in his twenties, to attack several people in the station, in the heart of the capital's 10th arrondissement, an hour from strong crowd.

According to Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, who visited the scene on Wednesday, he had made no oral statement during the attack.

Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said in a statement on Wednesday that around 6:45 a.m., he "suddenly began, for no apparent reason at this stage, to strike a first victim with his weapon, a victim to whom he struck about twenty blows " with a "metal hook".

According to a police source, two police officers from the PAF were on patrol at the level of the access staircase to the Eurostar at the time of the events.

One of them tried to surround the attacker who injured him with his punch.

His colleague then fired his weapon, while the BRF policeman, alerted by the noise, immediately arrived and also opened fire on the assailant.

As is customary after shooting by the police, the General Inspectorate of the National Police (IGPN) was seized.

In total, six people were injured by the young man: two men aged 41 and 36, a 46-year-old police officer assigned to the Gare du Nord PAF, and three women aged 40, 47, and 53.

An identity yet to be confirmed

According to the prosecution, the identity of the attacker is still being checked.

He is indeed "registered under several identities in the automated fingerprint file fed by his declarations during previous procedures of which he was the subject", indicated Ms. Beccuau.

Investigators must now try to determine if one of these identities is the correct one.

According to Ms. Beccuau, he "could" be born in Algeria or Libya.

A police source for his part affirmed that he was a Libyan born in 2000, under an obligation to leave French territory (OQTF).

However, this OQTF could not be executed due to the instability in Libya, a country torn apart since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011 by clashes between rival factions.

The man would be known for acts of common law.