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The teacher killed in a Paris suburb in an Islamist terror attack was named Samuel Paty, Sky News confirmed.
Paty, 47, was “assassinated,” the French president said.
The history teacher, who is said to have discussed images of the Prophet Muhammad with his students, was reportedly beheaded.
The teacher reportedly beheaded in an Islamist terror attack in a Paris suburb has been named as Samuel Paty
The alleged attacker was shot and killed about 600 meters from the scene, according to the AP news agency.
It happened on a street in Conflans Sainte-Honorine, northwest of the French capital, around 5 in the afternoon local time.
On visiting the site, Emmanuel Macron called it a “cowardly attack”, saying that the man was “the victim of an Islamist terrorist attack” and was killed because “he taught freedom of expression, of believing and not believing.”
The president said France “will protect and defend” its teachers.
Emmanuel Macron on the scene
According to the newspaper Le Parisien, the attacker was an 18-year-old man of Chechen origin, who was carrying a knife.
Sky’s Adam Parsons, who is at the scene, says he was not thought to be on any watch list.
He is believed to have been shot after he refused to put down his gun.
Paty is understood to be a 47-year-old history teacher.
A video of his last moments is believed to show the sounds of the gun firing, followed by a barrage of gunfire as he was killed.
A pistol was found beside him. Reports say it was an airsoft pistol that fired plastic pellets.
The country’s counterterrorism prosecutor previously called the incident a stabbing, but both Reuters and AP news agencies said police sources told them the victim was beheaded.
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Witnesses heard the attacker shout “Allahu Akbar,” or God is great, Reuters said.
France’s counterterrorism prosecutors have said nine suspects have also been arrested, including the attacker’s grandparents, parents and 17-year-old brother.
Mr. Paty reportedly showed images of the Prophet Muhammad in class during a debate on freedom of expression on 5 October.
A complaint was filed and then the police spoke with the teacher.
The suspect was shot and killed about 600 meters from where the attack took place.
Sky News understands that among those who complained was a parent who posted a video of the incident online. That father is among the nine arrested.
The suspect did not have a child at the school, the AP said.
A Twitter thread posted last Friday allegedly the students had been shown cartoons of the prophet.
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However, another parent of one of the teacher’s students said that Paty asked the Muslim students to raise their hands and leave the classroom before they were taught about the image.
She said: “My son understood immediately, the night he came home, he understood immediately that it was not to discriminate.”
“He told me, no, it was not to offend us, they were images that he did not want us to see. My son understood that at no time had he (the teacher) disrespected him.”
Witnesses heard the attacker shout Allahu Akbar
Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer tweeted that the republic had come under attack with the “despicable murder of one of its servants.”
He added that “unity and firmness are the only answers to the monstrosity of Islamist terrorism.”
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab tweeted to express the government’s solidarity with France, saying: “My thoughts are with the people of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine tonight after reports of a truly horrific attack. The UK stands in solidarity with France at this time. “
It is the second terrorism-related incident since the opening of an ongoing trial into the January 2015 newsroom massacre at the satirical newspaper. Charlie hebdo after the publication of cartoons of the prophet of Islam.
When the trial opened, the newspaper republished cartoons of the prophet to underscore the right to freedom of expression.
Exactly three weeks ago, a young man from Pakistan was arrested after stabbing, in front of the newspaper’s former offices, two people who suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
The 18-year-old told police he was upset by the publication of the cartoons.
