Published 17:29 IST, October 30th 2020
France church attacker identified as 21-year-old Tunisia refugee who entered in September
The 21-year-old Aouissaoui had entered Europe in late September on the Italian island of Lampedusa and carried out an attack at the Notre Dame Basilica, France.
The knife attack at a church in Nice, described by French President Emmanuel Macron as an "Islamist terrorist attack" was carried out by a young Tunisian teenager who was armed with a knife as he attacked worshippers in the French church. According to sources of Associated Press, as France heightened its security alert to the maximum ahead of the second lockdown, the suspect was identified by authorities in the killing of three at the Notre Dame Basilica in the southern city. The 21-year-old Brahim Aouissaoui had entered Europe in late September on the Italian island of Lampedusa and had undergone mandatory coronavirus quarantine, according to sources of the ongoing inquiry.
The brutal attack in France's Mediterranean city of Nice, which was the third instance of extremism and violence in less than two months in the country was carried out some half a mile (less than a kilometer) from the site where a trucker plowed the vehicle into the crowd in 2016 on France’s national day. French President Emmanuel Macron deployed at least 7,000 soldiers, increasing from the previous 3,000 around the schools and religious sites.
The elderly victim from Nice who was "virtually beheaded" along with a man and a woman had succumbed to the injuries, meanwhile, France’s anti-terrorism prosecutors opened an investigation into the case. According to AP, the prosecutor identified the suspect as a 1999 Tunisian born refugee that had migrated via crossing in boats from North Africa, on Sept. 20. And on Oct. 9, he travelled to Bari, a port city in southern Italy.
Meanwhile, Tunisia's state-run TAP news agency quoted Tunisia's anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office as saying, "In Tunisia, an investigation was being opened on the “suspected commission of a terrorist crime by Tunisian, outside national borders." According to sources of intelligence the accused teenager had never previously been on the radar of the intelligence group as a potential threat. The CCTV camera footage showed the migrant teen at the Nice train station at 6:47 a.m. prior to carrying out the deadly attack. He caught on tapes changing his shoes and turning his coat inside out, after which, he headed for the church covering 400 meters (yards), just before 8:30 a.m.
Neutralized by police
The attacker was also carrying a copy of Islam’s holy book and at least two telephones and a knife with a 17-centimeter blade, and two other knives that weren't used, prosecutors confirmed to the sources of Associated Press. Prosecutor Jean-Francois Ricard was quoted by AP as saying that the attacker spent almost 30 minutes inside the church before the French police arrived through the side entrance passage. “After advancing down a corridor they came face-to-face with (the attacker) whom they neutralized,” Richard said.
[Police work behind a restricted zone near the Notre Dame church in Nice, southern France, after a knife attack took place. Credit: AP]
[Forensic police officers inspect the scene of a knife attack at Notre Dame church in Nice, southern France. Credit: AP]
[Police officers stand guard near Notre Dame church in Nice, southern France. Credit: AP]
[French policemen and forensic officers work on the scene of the knife attack in front of Notre Dame church. Credit: AP]
[French President Emmanuel Macron, second left, and Nice mayor Christian Estrosi , third left, meet police officers after a knife attack at Notre Dame church in Nice, southern France. Credit: AP]
[French President Emmanuel Macron meets rescue workers after a knife attack at Notre Dame church in Nice, southern France. Credit: AP]
Updated 17:28 IST, October 30th 2020