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A history teacher was stabbed and “beheaded” in front of his school in an alleged terrorist attack near Paris, according to police.
The victim had shown cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad of Islam to students during a lesson earlier this month, authorities said.
France’s counter-terrorism prosecutor is investigating the incident, which took place around 5 p.m. Friday in the town of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, about 25 kilometers northwest of the capital.
The attacker was shot to death minutes later by police some 600 meters from the scene of the stabbing, near the town of Eragny. He was armed with a knife and an airsoft pistol, police said.
French President Emmanuel Macron denounced what he called an “Islamist terror attack” while visiting the school and meeting with staff.
“One of our compatriots was killed today because he taught … the freedom to believe or not believe,” he said, adding: “We must all be together as citizens.”
Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer had previously said that the “despicable murder” was an attack on the French nation.
“Tonight I think of him, of his family,” he tweeted. “Our unity and steadfastness are the only answers to the monstrosity of Islamist terrorism.”
Interior Minister Gerard Darmanin said he had created a “crisis center” to deal with the attack.
According to police officers, the history teacher had started a discussion about the Muhammad cartoons in class. A parent of one of the students had filed a complaint, however the suspect did not have a child at the school, according to an official.
Another police source told the Reuters news agency that witnesses heard the attacker shouting “Allah Akbar,” or God is great. BFM TV reported that the suspect was 18 years old and born in Moscow.
It was also reported that the attacker claimed responsibility on Twitter with the words: “For Macron, the leader of the infidels, I executed one of your hellhounds who dared to belittle Muhammad.”
Last month, two people were stabbed near the former offices of the Charlie hebdo satirical magazine, scene of a deadly terrorist attack perpetrated by Islamist militants in 2015.
Fourteen people suspected of involvement in the 2015 terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo are currently on trial in Paris.
On Friday night, the magazine tweeted its “deepest support” to the teacher’s family and colleagues, adding: “Charlie Hebdo expresses his sense of horror and rebellion after a teacher in the line of duty was killed by a fanatic. religious”.
Additional agency reports
