January 2016 Paris police station attack

January 2016 Paris attack
Location Paris, France
Date 7 January 2016
c. 11:30 (CET)
Attack type
 Attempted murder
Weapons Cleaver
Deaths 1 (the perpetrator)
Perpetrator Unidentified asylum seeker

On 7 January 2016 in Paris, a man wearing a fake explosive belt attacked police officers with a meat cleaver while shouting "Allahu Akbar!" He was shot and killed by officers and no other people were killed.[1][2]

Details

The attack took place in the Goutte d'Or district where the incident occurred is predominantly of north African and sub-Saharan African origin.[3]

French interior ministry spokesperson Pierre-Henry Brandet said that on the day of the attack, "a man attempted to attack a policeman at the reception of the police station before being hit by shots from the police." A Bomb disposal team cleared the site, determining that the explosive vest the attacker wore was fake.[2] News of the attempted attack came after President François Hollande addressed New Year's greetings to France's police and gendarmes, and called for greater cooperation between the security services.

Suspect

There were unconfirmed reports that the attacker was a Tunisian man named Tarek Belgacem.[4] Although his identity remained uncertain, initially it was known that the suspect had used a series of "at least seven" aliases and later on it was found out that the suspect had 20 identities in seven different countries.[5] The suspect had been posing as an asylum-seeker, and was living in a center for asylum-seekers in Recklinghausen, Germany, since August 2015. By 11 January, it was reported the suspect had "surfaced" in Germany in 2013 after living in France for five years.[4][6] Police found a Arabic banner reading "Islamic State forever" on the wall of a communal kitchen in the center.[6] At the site of the attack, Paris police officers found "a piece of paper on the man's body with the Muslim profession of faith, a drawing of the flag of the Islamic State and a pledge of allegiance to the extremist group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi". The suspect was also carrying a cellphone with a German SIM card.[6]

Aftermath

In light of this attack, and a similar attack on a U.S. police officer on the same day, officers of the New York City Police Department were instructed to "exercise heightened vigilance" and take "proactive measures".[7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Landauro, Inti (8 January 2016). "French Police Treating Knife Attack at Paris Police Station as Act of Terrorism". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  2. 1 2 Breeden, Aurelein (7 January 2016). "Man With Fake Explosives Killed in Paris on Charlie Hebdo Anniversary". New York Times. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  3. ↑ "Man attempting attack on Paris police station cried 'Allahu Akbar': government — The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  4. 1 2 Faiola, Anthony (10 January 2016). "Suspect who tried to attack Paris police station lived with asylum seekers in Germany". Washington Post. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  5. ↑ http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/pariser-angreifer-nutzte-20-identitaeten-in-sieben-laendern-a-1073439.html (January 22, 2016)
  6. 1 2 3 Breeden, Aurelein (10 January 2016). "Suspect Shot by Paris Police Tied to German Migrant House". New York Times. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  7. ↑ DeStefano, Anthony (8 January 2015). "NYPD warns cops after attacks on police in Philadelphia, Paris". Newsday. Retrieved 9 January 2016.


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