The Tunisian man who murdered three people in the France attack came to Europe a few days before the attack. The crime suspect had one Italian Red Cross documentation issued for him at the time he landed on the Lampedusa island in Italy. He entered Europe after traveling in a migrant boat.
The suspect was shot by the France police and is currently in a critical condition. The chief anti-terror prosecutor of France said that one of the victims were “virtually beheaded.” Soon, Emmanuel Macron announced the attack to be by the Islamist terrorists.
The President immediately deployed several soldiers in public places, including schools and churches. The numbers increased from 3,000 to 7,000 for such protection. Further, the anti-terrorism prosecutors started an investigation with a high-security alert from France.
A 47-year-old man reported that he might have come in contact with the terrorist. He shared some valuable details that could be of help. The France attack on church happened in the southern city of Nice. The incident echoes the earlier one that happened in the north-west of Paris.
A teacher named Samuel Paty was beheaded a few days after displaying controversial cartoons of Prophet Muhammed to his students. The murder increased tensions in France.
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The France attack reflects growing tensions
The President’s defense to allow publishing such cartoons and the French government’s crackdown on radical Islamism has made people in Muslim-majority countries angered, including Turkey.
The suspect who attacked in Nice repeatedly shouted “Allahu Akbar,” which means God is greatest in Arabic. However, the police soon shot him.
The man had a Quran, a 12-inch long knife, and two telephones with him, as reported by Jean-François Ricard, the chief anti-terrorist prosecutor. The man also left a bag which had two more knives next to it but wasn’t used for the attack. According to police sources, the name of the criminal is Brahim Aouissaoui.
The President visited Nice and said if France is attacked one more time, it will be because of the values that it has. He said that French countrymen are free to believe what they want and not give in to a spirit of terror. Finally, he mentioned if this happened one more time, they would not surrender anything.
Victims of the France attack
The attack happened on three individuals who were attending the Basilica on Thursday morning, to attend the first Mass. Two of them died in the church, and one of them was a woman of 60, who was virtually beheaded. The lady was not named, but the other two was Vincent Loquès of 55. The person worked at the church for over 10 years. The man was a favorite of the regular attenders in the church. He was opening the building when the terrorist attacked him and slit his throat.
The last victim was Simone Barreto Silva of 44. She was a mother of three and a Brazilian who lived in France for 30 years. The woman ran for her life and took refuge in a close-by café but had several stabs on her body. She eventually lost her life due to the wounds. The last thing she said to the people who tried to help her was to tell her kids that she loved them.
Prompt action by the police
Later, it was understood that there was a witness who managed to alarm the protection system of the city. Four policemen quickly arrived at the crime scene and shot the attacker and were then detained.
Two more attacks happened on that day, one in Saudi Arabia, and another in France again. A man was killed in Montfavet close to Avignon city after threatening the police with a handgun. One guard was attacked outside a French consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. One suspect was arrested while the guard was taken to a hospital.
Precisely four years back, Nice had witnessed one of the worst jihadi attacks. A Tunisian in a truck barged into a crowd full of people celebrating Bastille Day on July 14. The incident killed 86 people. Authorities across the world condemned the Thursday attack in France, including European neighbors like Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon, Qatar, and the US.
