The French anti-terrorist brigade announced that it had been called to intervene following the death by beheading of a man late Friday afternoon outside Paris. According to a source quoted by the France-Presse news agency, an investigation was opened for “murder related to terrorist activity” and “criminal terrorist association”.
Around 5 pm on Conflans-Sainte-Honorine (minus an hour in Lisbon), a team from the anti-crime brigade spotted an individual wielding a knife. When the police asked him to lower it, he refused, having been shot dead. A few meters away, the authorities found the body of a beheaded man.
The agents did not immediately approach the suspect because he was wearing an explosive vest, writes the newspaper “Le Figaro”.
Actu 17, a publication specializing in safety information, states that the victim would be a history teacher at a high school in that location, who would have shown caricatures of the prophet Muhammad in the classroom. That could be the motivation for the murder, which the authorities are investigating.
Authorities were called to the scene, located 50 kilometers northwest of Paris, when a suspect was found hanging around a school, according to a police source.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, who is traveling to Morocco, decided to return to Paris immediately.
A security perimeter was set up and demining services were activated.
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