The suspected perpetrator of the explosion outside a synagogue in the south of France has been arrested, acting Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced on X.
The suspect fired shots before being arrested, the anti-terrorism prosecutor said, and emergency services returned fire, wounding him in the face.
Hours of searching for the perpetrator
Nearly 200 police officers and gendarmes had been searching for the suspected perpetrator for hours. Several house searches were carried out before he was finally arrested in Nîmes, about 40 kilometres from the attack site La Grande-Motte. Two people from the man’s immediate environment were also arrested by the police.
On Saturday morning, two doors of the synagogue in the town of La Grande-Motte near Montpellier were set on fire. Two cars in front of the building also caught fire and a nearby gas cylinder exploded. A police officer was slightly injured. The five people who were in the synagogue at the time were unharmed.
“Missed the drama”
The Public Prosecution Service Counterterrorism is investigating attempted murder related to terrorism, forming a terrorist organization and destruction with dangerous means. “The initial investigation shows that the perpetrator had a Palestinian flag and a weapon with him,” according to the Public Prosecution Service. It is also investigating how the suspected perpetrator prepared the crime and how he fled.
Incumbent French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and Interior Minister Darmanin traveled to the scene of the attack that afternoon. Attal condemned the act as anti-Semitic. “We can assume that we have escaped an absolute tragedy,” the prime minister said.
According to the initial findings, the perpetrator was very determined, Attal explained. If the synagogue had been full at the time of the crime and people had come out, Attal said, there would probably have been deaths. The act is outrageous. The prime minister also referred to the increasing number of anti-Semitic attacks in France.
More security forces for synagogues
President Emmanuel Macron wrote further
According to the head of the Federation of Jewish Organizations in France, Yonathan Arfi, the explosion occurred at a time when worshipers could have been expected to arrive at the synagogue. It is not just an attack on a place of worship, but an attempt to kill Jews.
Source: Krone
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