A German tourist was killed in an attack near the Eiffel Tower in Paris around 21:00 last night, two other people were injured. The police were able to apprehend the perpetrator.
The attack took place on the Quai de Grenelle, in the 15th arrondissement of Paris, close to the Eiffel Tower. One person was killed, two others were injured. The perpetrator is said to have first attacked a couple with a knife on a bridge.
"The police have heroically arrested an attacker who targeted passers-by," Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin wrote on social media. He quickly went to the scene, where he explained what happened in more detail.
A 23-year-old German-Filipino tourist was killed; he allegedly stabbed him in the back and shoulder. The woman was physically unharmed. A taxi driver who saw the events was able to save her.
Psychological issues
The perpetrator then crossed the bridge, where officers tried to arrest him. "During the chase, he attacked two more people," said Darmanin. "It concerns a woman and a man, in their sixties. One of them was injured in the eye by a hammer blow."
According to the minister, two more people are currently injured, but their lives are not in danger.
The perpetrator is a 26-year-old Frenchman, who had previously been sentenced to four years in prison in 2016, because he planned to commit violent crimes at the time. The intelligence services were then able to prevent this. The Frenchman served the sentence and was also treated for severe mental disorders.
The young man is said to be known as radicalised, and was on the terrorist watch list of the French security services.
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Darmanin stated that there may be a link with the violence between Israel and Hamas, as the attacker reportedly stated that he could not tolerate "the murder of Muslims in both Afghanistan and Palestine," and that he believes France is "complicit in what Israel is doing."
In a video posted on social media by the perpetrator around the same time as the attacks, he talks about "current events, the government and the murder of innocent Muslims," a security source told VRT. It is currently unclear when the video was made.
The anti-terrorist prosecutor's office has opened an investigation for murder and attempted murder in the context of terrorism and for criminal terrorist conspiracy.
