French Interior Minister Gerald Durmanine told France 2 in an interview on Friday that authorities were working to verify further details about the suspect’s background after the attack, which left two people seriously injured.
The minister also confirmed that the incident was being treated as an “act of Islamist terrorism”.
Dermany added that the main suspect was not known to police for “radicalization”, but was arrested last month for carrying a screwdriver.
Police say seven people have been arrested in connection with the attack. Judicial sources told CNN on Friday that the five people arrested were arrested in the apartment apartment.
Although the victims have not been named, they are both employees of the French documentary production company Premieres Lignes, said Paul L. Morera, the company’s founder.
Morera said the pair were attacked with a “sort of cleaver” in front of the sort fee. His life is not in danger but he is in critical condition, a police spokesman said on Friday.
In a statement on Facebook, Charlie Hebdo magazine expressed its “support and solidarity” for Premier Lignes and “for those affected by this horrific attack.”
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo tweeted that “it is once again the freedom of expression that is being targeted,” while former Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Twitter that it had “given him the spirit to overcome a nightmare”.
The stabbing began in January 2015 during a three-day trial of 14 suspects involved in a series of terrorist attacks, which began at Charlie Hebdo’s office fees and ended at the Kosher supermarket.
A total of 17 people were killed in the 2015 attack, which was carried out by brothers Saeed and Charif Kuachi and their partner Amadi Kulibali. The suspects currently under trial are accused of providing logistical support to these people.
After Friday’s knife attack, Premier Lignes director Luke Harman criticized what he called “the complete absence of security at the building since the attack on Charlie Hebdo.”
CNN’s Gale Fournier and Nimh Kennedy contributed to this report.
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