Islamist Radical Stabs Tourist to Death, Then Cries Out 'Allahu Akbar,' Officials Say
A Muslim man fatally stabbed a tourist near the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Saturday before he bludgeoned two more people with a hammer, according to French authorities.
French officials said the suspect has ties to the Islamic State group.
The BBC reported the deceased was a German nurse visiting the city and the suspect, whom it identified only as Armand R, was a 26-year-old Frenchman.
France’s Le Monde reported Armand Rajabpour-Miyandoab was arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise and for criminal terrorist conspiracy.
What could have been a killing spree began around 9 p.m. local time, according to the BBC.
After the German man was stabbed to death, the only thing that prevented the killer from stabbing the man’s wife was a taxi driver who saw what happened and intervened.
The BBC reported the killer then ran across a bridge spanning the River Seine and attacked two more people with a hammer.
One of the victims was described as a 60-year-old French citizen and the other a 66-year-old British tourist.
French Health Minister Aurélien Rousseau told the media on Sunday both victims had received treatment and were “in good health,” the BBC reported.
The suspect shouted “Allahu Akbar” during his arrest, French Interior Minister Gérald Darmani told reporters.
Darmani also said the suspect was said to have been complaining about Israel’s war against Islamic terror and complained that France was siding against Gaza.
Officials said the suspect was born in France to Iranian parents and had converted to Islam as an 18-year-old.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was “shocked” by the murder of one of his country’s citizens, according to Reuters.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron referred to the stabbing and bludgeoning as a “terrorist attack” in a statement he posted on X.
“I send all my condolences to the family and loved ones of the German national who died this evening during the terrorist attack in Paris and think with emotion of the people currently injured and in care,” Macron wrote on Saturday night in a statement transacted by the platform to English.
“My most sincere thanks to the emergency forces who made it possible to quickly arrest a suspect,” he added. “The national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office now seized will be responsible for shedding light on this matter so that justice can be done in the name of the French people.”
J’adresse toutes mes condoléances à la famille et aux proches du ressortissant allemand décédé ce soir lors de l’attaque terroriste survenue à Paris et pense avec émotion aux personnes actuellement blessées et prises en charge.
Mes plus sincères remerciements aux forces de…
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) December 3, 2023
Reuters reported the suspect was imprisoned in 2016 after he attempted to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State caliphate and was released just a few years ago.
He was under government surveillance but free to walk the streets of Paris at the time of the attacks.
Authorities said the suspect had pledged his loyalty to the Islamic State group in a video recorded before the attacks, Reuters reported.
Paris is preparing to host the 2024 Summer Olympics.
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