(Rightallegiance.com) – French authorities have a suspect in custody after he was accused of killing one person and injuring two other people with a knife, and reportedly a hammer as well.
The attack took place in Central Paris near Bir Hakeim, which is close to the Eiffel Tower. This was confirmed by Gerald Darmanin, France’s Interior Minister.
Darmanin also stated that this man was a French citizen, and he was previously known to French intelligence services for awhile now.
The man killed in the attack was a tourist from Germany. His name is not disclosed, however it is said he was born in the Philippines. The two others had non-life threatening injuries, as confirmed by the Interior Minister.
One of the people who sustained non-life threatening injuries was a British national. The other, interestingly, was a French spokeswoman for the anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office.
According to French authorities, the police officers needed to use a taser to nutralize the man with the knife and hammer. The suspect’s life is not at risk, and he is in custody now.
The suspect was born in France in 1997, and in 2016 he was sentenced to four years in prison for planning violent behavior or an orchestrated attack.
The French intelligence services previously knew about him due to his “serious psychiatric disorders” as Darmanin had previously said.
French President Emmanuel Macron said he would classify this attack as a “terror attack” and should be investigated by the anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office to the fullest extent of the law.
On a statement released on X, President Macron wrote, “I send all my condolences to the family and loved ones of the German national who died this evening.”