Attack on a synagogue in Rouen: who is the attacker shot dead by the police ?

After having wanted to set fire to the Rouen synagogue, this Friday, May 17, a man, armed with a knife, was attacked. shot dead by police. The man was not known to the police, but was believed to be a suspect. to the file of wanted persons.

He was é identified, but checks are underway. The individual who attempted to to burn down the synagogue and was killed. shot dead by a police officer would be an elderly man 29 years old and of Algerian origin according to the declarations of the prosecutor of the Republic of Rouen and the Minister of the Republic ;Interior. G&ald Darmanin clarifiedé that the deceased suspect died was neither known to the police nor to the justice system; and that it was "not stuck' S".

The individual had formulated an application for a "residence permit for ésick foreigner" with the Rouen prefecture in 2022, but the request had been filed with the Rouen prefecture in 2022. rejected after consulting a doctor, added the Minister of the Interior during his trip to the site. The suspect had been the subject of an obligation to leave French territory (OQTF) for a year, but this last one has not been executed, because the individual had committed to an appeal before the administrative courts reports AFP. The appeal was é standing in January 2024 and the man had since been “registered in the wanted persons" file.

The Armed Man and threatening in front of the police

The surveillance cameras of the city and the synagogue, located in the very center, made it possible to witness the attack. the police to identify the facts. In the images which show part of the roof of the building, we can see the suspect brandishing an iron bar in one hand and a knife in his hand. 39;other", specifiedé the prosecutor of the Republic of Rouen, Fr&déric Teillet, during a press briefing this Friday noon. Interpelled by the police, the individual "insults the police" then "throws the iron bar towards the police officers, jumps from the roof and runs towards a police officer, threatening him with a knife", again according to the magistrate.

Earlier in the morning, the mayor of Rouen Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol recounted a similar story to about the unfolding of the facts at the microphone of France Bleu Normandie. He added, however, that the man had been killed. seen “throwing an incendiary item, what could be called a Molotov cocktail” towards the synagogue.

Face &agrav; the threat, one of the police officers backed away. several meters and “steered” his weapon against the attacker" by making several summons according to the magistrate. The warnings did not deter the suspect, the police officer fired "&at five times, hitting the man four times. The man died on site as a result of his injuries, despite the care provided by the firefighters. The police officer who fired the shots, a 25-year-old officer according to Gérald Darmanin, was arrested. placed on guard &agrav; view, as required by procedure. But according to the first images seen by the magistrate the official "used his weapon within the permitted conditions", and his guard " view "will be raised & the end of his audition. The police officer was also arrested. hello by the minister for "his courage and professionalism" : "He used his administrative weapon, I mean he was right to do so

The terrorist trail "under evaluation"

The attack is considered "deepéanti-Semitic" by the mayor of Rouen est à the origin of the opening of two investigations into "arson" targeting a place of worship and for "intentional violence against persons holding authorityé public entrusted to the general direction of the national police. The investigations must shed light on the suspect’s motivations.

The National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor's Office (PNAT) has not yet taken up the investigations. Nevertheless, he indicated &agrav; Franceinfo "being éassessment" of the situation. To qualify acts of terrorism, the PNAT analyzes several criteria, including the profile of the perpetrator, his motivations, his ideological impregnation, his possible psychological fragility and, finally, the existence or not of a claim aimed at associate his passage à the act à an ideological or a terrorist group, explains Le Monde. Information still unknown to the police services for the moment.