Three dead after knife attack on a church in Nice: perpetrator arrested – VG

Three people were killed after a knife attack at the Notre-Dame church in Nice, southern France, shortly after 9 a.m. on Thursday. The antiterrorist prosecutor’s office, which is leading the investigation, has confirmed this to several French media.

Prosecutors and police say an investigation into the attack as a terrorist act is underway.

One of the dead is said to have had his throat slit, Reuters and AFP report. According to Reuters, it is a woman. France Info experiences that of the three dead, two are women and one man. It has not been officially confirmed.

According to the mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, two have died inside the church.

Police sources inform FranceInfo that the third victim took refuge in a bar near the church, where he died from his injuries.

Perpetrator sent to hospital

All the churches in Nice are now guarded or closed, says the mayor.

It also says that the perpetrator shouted “Allahu Akbar” (Allah is the greatest in Arabic, journaln.anm.) Even after he was arrested by the police.

The perpetrator must have been injured and sent to hospital.

The church is located just off the main street of the city. Suspicious luggage has also been found that they are investigating.

French police are reporting on Twitter that the bomb squad is on the scene and asking people to stay away from the city center. They point out that an explosion heard in connection with the attack originated from the police.

– Do not panic, the situation is under control, they write.

We know this about the victims, according to Franceinfo:

• A woman in her 70s. She was attacked in the neck, “almost beheaded,” several sources told Franceinfo. She was found dead in the church fountain.
• A guardian of the church in the diocese, around 50 years old, father of two children. He was also nearly beheaded.
• A woman in her forties died outside the church after hiding in a cafe / bar where she eventually died from her injuries.

Crisis meeting with Macron

French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has called an emergency meeting of the Interior Ministry. President Emmanuel Macron, who is now heading to Nice, will attend.

The mayor of the city Christian Estrosi confirms on Twitter that the perpetrator has been arrested. It also confirms that it was an attack with a “blank weapon”, that is, a stabbing or stabbing weapon.

– I confirm that everything points to a terrorist attack, writes Estrosi.

The mayor of Nice calls for strong reactions after the French city was again hit by a possible terrorist attack. In 2016, Nice was the target of a terrorist attack that killed 86 people and injured 458 when an Islamist crashed into a crowd on the city’s waterfront with a truck.

– We can no longer settle for peace laws to destroy Islamist fascism, writes Mayor Christian Estrosi on Twitter:

Estrosi is the mayor of the right-wing Republican Party (Les Républicains).

Norwegian family in Nice: Heard explosions

A Norwegian family living in a hotel next to the church tells what they saw:

– We have seen the police enter and we have heard seven shots inside the church, says the father of the family to VG.

He says they first heard two explosions that he believes may be due to the police blowing up the church door.

French police write on Twitter that “the detonations you hear were carried out by the police, don’t panic, the situation is under control.” French media have reported that suspicious luggage has been found in the area.

– A patient has been rolled onto a stretcher, says the Norwegian who wishes to remain anonymous. The Norwegian family lives in France and is on an autumn vacation in Nice.

Good Mayor: Everything points to a terrorist attack

– I’m on the scene with the police, who arrested the perpetrator. I confirm that everything indicates that this is a terrorist attack, writes Estrosi Twitter.

Only 13 days ago, the French teacher Samuel Paty (47) was beheaded outside the school where he worked in a suburb of Paris. Paty showed the students cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.

Terrorist investigator: increased danger of new attacks

Swedish terrorist investigator Magnus Ranstorp tells NTB that he believes the danger of further attacks increases after Thursday’s terror attack in Nice. He believes the cartoon controversy increases the tension.

– It occurs within the framework of a confrontation that only intensifies. Also, you have the cartoon contest. It’s not new, but it can trigger extreme violence, says Ranstorp, who is a terrorism researcher at the Swedish Defense College.

He refers to France as the eye of the storm in the confrontation between secular societies and Islamist terrorism.

– They will only toughen up, which means that we will probably see more such attacks in France, Ranstorp tells NTB.

Call on all French Muslims to cancel Muslim holidays

A representative of the French Council of the Muslim Faith strongly condemned the attack, Reuters reports.

“As a sign of pain and solidarity with the victims and their loved ones, I ask all Muslims in France to interrupt the celebration of the Mawlid holiday.”

Mawlid is the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday, which is celebrated on Thursday.

Events in Avignon and at the French Consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Just before noon Thursday morning, another knife incident was reported in Avignon, about three hours west of Nice – Avignon police confirmed that a man was shot and killed after he threatened police officers with a knife, according to Reuters.

Around the same time, AFP reports that there has been a knife attack on the French consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. A security guard must be injured.

The man behind the attack is said to be a Saudi citizen. He has now been arrested, Reuters reports.

The injured security guard was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries. This is stated by the French Embassy.