The suspect of France’s fatal knife attack is “Islamist extremist with condemnation for glorifying terrorism,” says the minister

Four people were arrested after a man was killed and seven police officers injured in a knife attack in eastern France, which has been linked to Islamic extremism.

Those who are in custody include a 37 -year -old Algerian man, identified by prosecutors such as Brahim A, who believes that he carried out the attack in a market in Mulhouse, near the German border, around 4 pm on Saturday .

Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau described the suspect, who arrived in France without documents in 2014, as an Islamic extremist with an schizophrenic profile.

He was previously arrested and condemned for glorifying terrorism due to Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 against Israel, said Retilleau.

The suspect was in prison for several months, then confined to house arrest while the authorities sought to deport Algeria. Retailleau criticized the country for resisting French efforts to return criminals.

He was armed with a knife and a screwdriver and repeatedly shouted “Allahu Akbar” (“God is bigger”) during the attack, said the prosecutor.

A Portuguese man, a civilian who tried to intervene, was killed and seven police officers were injured, including a parking control agent that was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.

Two of the suspect’s family members and a person who stayed with him were also arrested, said the prosecutor’s office.

It is said that the attacker was at a police station, where he had to sign a document for his arrest, but refused and ran into the market where he launched the attack.

French President Emmanuel Macron He said the government is determined to respond to massive stabbing, which blamed “Islamist terrorism.”

The French government will convene a special meeting on Wednesday on immigration following the attack, said Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot.