Paris attack: French Minister calls stabbing near Charlie Hebdo office 'an act of terror'

The stabbing incident in Paris that left two people severely injured on Friday, September 25 near the former office of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo is being treated an ‘act of terror’, said French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin.

As per reports, the main suspect of the attack is believed to an 18-year-old man of Pakistani origin and has been arrested near the scene. The police said that six other people have also been taken into custody for questioning related to the incident that left a man and a woman wounded.

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Both victims of the stabbing worked at a TV production company and were reportedly the target of a 'machete-type' weapon. French Prime Minister Jean Castex told the reporters at the scene near Boulevard Richard-Lenoir that their lives were not in danger.

The latest attack comes amid the ongoing trial of 14 people accused of helping two extremists carry out the 2015 attack on the French satirical that killed 12 people. Since then, the magazine had shifted its office to a secret location. 

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‘New bloody attack’

In an interview with a public broadcaster, the French Interior Minister called the incident a 'terror act'. He added, it is a “new bloody attack” against the country and its citizens. France’s counterterrorism prosecutor had previously said that the authorities are suspecting a terrorist motive citing the place and the timing of the attack. 

“Manifestly it’s an act of Islamist terrorism,” Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin was quoted by AP. “Obviously, there is little doubt. It’s a new bloody attack against our country, against journalists, against this society.”

The incident is reported to have taken place in front of the building where Charlie Hebdo was based before the 2015 attack at the same time when the suspects were on trial across the town. According to reports, Prosecutor Jean-Francois Ricard said that the chief suspect did not know the people that were severely injured.

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Inputs/Image: AP