El Hussein Kheifri: Who is the suspect in the attack on the synagogue in La Grande-Motte ?

Identified by video surveillance and then arrested in a neighboring department, the presumed author of the attack targeting the synagogue of La Grande-Motte is unknown to the intelligence services. Who is he??

The escape of the alleged arsonist who attacked the Beth Yaacov synagogue in La Grande-Motte on Saturday, August 24, did not last long. The main suspect was arrested in the evening in Nîmes. Spotted thanks to the tracking of his phone in a sensitive area of ​​Nîmes, Less than fifty kilometers from La Grande-Motte, RAID and BRI officers were able to arrest him late in the evening, after an exchange of gunfire in which only the suspect was injured. Taken to hospital, he has not yet been able to be questioned by the police who have been establishing his profile for two days.  

The man arrested is unknown to the intelligence services but he appears in the police files for drug use, BFMTV reported. His name is El Hussein Kheifri and he is 33 years old. An Algerian national with legal status and the father of a child born in 2019, he arrived in France “in 2018 via Spain” according to Valeurs actuelles, and lived in La Grande-Motte then in Nîmes. For a while, he attended a mosque in Nîmes before being refused entry. The reason for this is that he is said to have caused several problems with the faithful. Also known for being a squatter, it was in a dwelling that he was illegally occupying that he was arrested on Saturday a little before midnight.

The National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office (PNAT) stated that he had been injured in the face and arm and that his condition required surgery. The operation was to take place over the weekend so that he could be transferred to Paris on Monday, August 26. An investigation into “attempted murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise”, “destruction by dangerous means in connection with a terrorist enterprise” and “terrorist criminal association with a view to preparing crimes against persons” has been opened by the PNAT. In the meantime, the police have also arrested three other people, including two close friends of the suspect, men in their thirties. 

Identified thanks to video surveillance

Very quickly after starting several fires near the synagogue, the man was spotted by a video surveillance camera and an image of him circulated, notably on social networks. It showed a man, his face uncovered, with a Palestinian flag tied around his waist and a keffiyeh on his head. In his hands were two plastic bottles that could have contained the fuel that allowed him to start the fires. The man also appeared to be in possession of a firearm that was visible at his height. Not far from the synagogue, the police found an axe with Arabic inscriptions.