- One person is dead and at least two others are seriously injured following a knife attack in eastern France on Saturday. President Macron has labeled the attack “an act of Islamist terrorism.”
- The attack took place around 4 p.m. local time in the city of Mulhouse, during a demonstration in support of Congo.
- A prosecutor with France’s anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office said the alleged attacker is on a terror prevention watchlist.
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One person is dead and at least two others are injured following a knife attack in eastern France Saturday, Feb. 22. French President Emmanuel Macron said that the attack is “without any doubt an act of Islamist terrorism.”
According to reports, one person was killed after they tried to intervene in the attack, which seriously wounded two police officers. Three other officers suffered minor injuries.
France’s anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office identified the alleged attacker, who has been arrested, as a 37-year-old man from Algeria. He reportedly shouted “Allahu Akbar,” or “God is greatest” in Arabic, during the attack.
The attack took place around 4 p.m. local time during a demonstration in support of Congo, in the city of Mulhouse, near France’s borders with Germany and Switzerland.
Prosecutor Nicolas Heitz told the French news agency, Agence France-Presse (AFP), that the suspected attacker is on a terror prevention watchlist. That list was established in 2015 following the deadly attacks at satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo’s offices, as well as a Jewish supermarket.
While Macron unequivocally labeled the attack as an act of Islamist terrorism, Mulhouse Mayor Michèle Lutz said that although its being investigated as a terror attack, “this must obviously still be confirmed by the judiciary.”
French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau will travel to the scene of the attack on Saturday.
The investigation is reportedly being handled by the anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office
This is a developing story.
