French police shoot man dead near Paris after fatal stabbing

By Antony Paone

 

French police secure an area in Villejuif near Paris, France, January 3, 2020 after police shot dead a man who tried to stab several people in a public park. REUTERS/Charles Platiau

 

VILLEJUIF, France (Reuters) - French police shot dead a man near Paris on Friday after he went on a rampage with a knife in a park, killing one person and wounding two more, prosecutors said.

 

Religious documents including a copy of the Koran were found among the man's belongings, but there was no evidence the man had been influenced by radical Islamists, a spokesman for prosecutors said.

 

The attacker had a history of mental illness, had been admitted to hospital a few months ago, and was undergoing a course of psychiatric treatment, the spokesman said.

 

The attack happened in the town of Villejuif, about 8 km (5 miles) south of central Paris. Police cordoned off the area, and ambulances and police vehicles lined a road approaching the park.

 

The attack comes as the French capital has been rocked by major attacks resulting in mass casualties in the past four years.

 

The two injured victims were being treated in nearby hospitals, Laure Beccuau, the prosecutor whose office is handling the case, told reporters.

 

"The suspect tried to attack other victims during his murderous spree, who were able to escape," she said.

 

Laurent Nunez, the deputy interior minister, visited the scene and said the attacker likely would have hurt more people if police had not shot him when they did. "It was an extremely courageous act," Nunez said of the police response.

 

The prosecutor's spokesman said the attacker, identified only as Nathan C., was born in 1997 in Lilas, a northeastern suburb of Paris.

 

One witness described hearing the attacker shout "Allahu Akbar," or "God is great," during the knife attack in the park, according to the spokesman.

 

But he said: "We don't have evidence that would allow us to suppose there has been a radicalisation." The man was not known to domestic intelligence services and had no criminal record, the spokesman said.

 

During the attack, the man first targeted a woman. The woman's spouse intervened to protect her, and in the process he was fatally stabbed. The woman was not gravely wounded, the spokesman said.

 

In October last year, four people were stabbed to death at the Paris police headquarters by Mickael Harpon, an IT specialist working for the police. Prosecutors said that Harpon, who was shot dead by police, had come under the sway of radical Islamists.

 

Coordinated bombings and shootings by Islamist militants in November 2015 at the Bataclan theatre and other locations around Paris killed 130 people in the deadliest attacks in France since World War Two.

 

(Reporting by Antony Paone; Additional reporting by Matthias Blamont, Simon Carraud and Matthieu Protard in Paris; Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Leslie Adler)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-01-04

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11 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

French police shot dead a man near Paris on Friday

Excellent job, no  pussying around just get rid  of the problem.

Part and parcel of living in a big city

The world unfortunately is going mad, with every madman acting within his league.

1 hour ago, rooster59 said:

Religious documents including a copy of the Koran were found among the man's belongings, but there was no evidence the man had been influenced by radical Islamists

 

1 hour ago, rooster59 said:

One witness described hearing the attacker shout "Allahu Akbar," or "God is great," during the knife attack in the park, according to the spokesman.

 It makes me sad as an armchair observer, that I know so much more about the motivation and cause of this attack, than the highly trained and well paid French authorities.

 

1 hour ago, rooster59 said:

Religious documents including a copy of the Koran were found among the man's belongings, but there was no evidence the man had been influenced by radical Islamists, a spokesman for prosecutors said.

Ahh the religion of peace, but no evidence it influenced him to stab people, he was just carrying the Koran at the time. So please do not blame, Peace Religion

2 hours ago, Dcheech said:

Ahh the religion of peace, but no evidence it influenced him to stab people, he was just carrying the Koran at the time. So please do not blame, Peace Religion

Did you miss the part where he was a sandwich short of a picnic.

2 hours ago, TopDeadSenter said:

 

 It makes me sad as an armchair observer, that I know so much more about the motivation and cause of this attack, than the highly trained and well paid French authorities.

 

It makes me sad to think you believe you know more than them.

Now feed him to the wild pigs..

Just another muslim terrorist attack ,nothing new to see .

How come so many people with mental illnesses are attracted to the death cult of Islam ? 

4 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Religious documents including a copy of the Koran were found among the man's belongings, but there was no evidence the man had been influenced by radical Islamists, a spokesman for prosecutors said.

????

Prayers for the victims. Good shoot by the French cops. They have shown they dont pussyfoot around.

1 hour ago, RichardColeman said:

How come so many people with mental illnesses are attracted to the death cult of Islam ? 

I suggest there are quite a few attracted to all religions. The US has no shortage of nutters and the muslim variety doing it is quite scarce there.

41 minutes ago, Sujo said:

I suggest there are quite a few attracted to all religions. The US has no shortage of nutters and the muslim variety doing it is quite scarce there.

i wonder if some muslims distance themselves from this religion of peace that attracts mentally ill frustrated outlaws to engage in hainous crimes carried out in its name, let alone the préjudices they all endure, being seen like potential terrorists or backward people.  

Edited January 4, 20206 yr by Opl

Any narwhal tusk involved?

7 hours ago, Dcheech said:

Ahh the religion of peace, but no evidence it influenced him to stab people, he was just carrying the Koran at the time. So please do not blame, Peace Religion

In the UK probably 20 times more people have been murdered by "Catholic" and "Protestant" terrorists than ever were by Muslim terrorists.

2 hours ago, Sujo said:

I suggest there are quite a few attracted to all religions. The US has no shortage of nutters and the muslim variety doing it is quite scarce there.

only because they cant travel overland to get there ,then 20 odd miles in a boat to the uk 

4 hours ago, Sujo said:

I suggest there are quite a few attracted to all religions. The US has no shortage of nutters and the muslim variety doing it is quite scarce there.

It's people that work for the US Postal Service that you've gotta be wary of!????????