French authorities have detained three more individuals in connection with the deadly attack in Mulhouse in the eastern Alsace region, the anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office announced on Sunday.
According to the investigators, two of them are from the alleged perpetrator’s family circle. The suspected attacker, who remains in police custody, was said to have been staying with the third person.
Police said the suspect was armed with a knife and a screwdriver and attacked several people in a market on Saturday afternoon, fatally stabbed a 69-year-old Portuguese man and injuring seven others.
Five police officers and two municipal employees were injured before the suspect was subdued by police.
The suspect reportedly shouted “Allahu Akbar,” Arabic for God is great. French President Emmanuel Macron described the attack as an Islamist terrorist act.
The anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office is investigating charges of murder and attempted murder in connection with terrorism.
According to Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, the attacker targeted municipal car park security staff.
Authorities identified him as a 37-year-old Algerian national who had previously been convicted of glorifying terrorism and suffered from psychological issues.
He had entered France irregularly and was under orders to leave the country, but Algeria had repeatedly refused France’s requests to take him back.
Mulhouse, a city of some 100,000 residents near the German state border of Baden-Württemberg, remains on high alert following the attack.
French forensic police collect evidence at the site of a bladed weapon attack in Mulhouse, eastern Alsace region, where a man is suspected of killing one person and wounding two municipal police officers. The anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office announces on Sunday that French authorities have detained three more individuals in connection with the deadly attack. Sebastien Bozon/AFP/dpa
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