Following a shooting on the Champs-Elysees in Paris, one police officer has been left dead and another two seriously injured. A foreign female passerby received a light injury. The suspected attacker was killed, according to police.
21 April 2017
French authorities have confirmed the identity of the gunman in Thursday’s attack on the Champs-Elysees as Karim Cheurfi.
"He was not on the security watchlist and had shown no signs of radicalisation despite his many years in prison," Paris prosecutor Francois Molins told reporters, adding that police found a note near his body which indicated support for Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL).
The 39 year old was a French national who lived with his mother in the eastern Paris suburb of Chelles, according to Reuters.
Police said they are continuing to assess whether Cheurfi had accomplices or if he acted alone.
A written note defending Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) has been found near the body of the Champs-Elysees attacker, sources close to investigation said, as cited by AFP.
Investigators also reportedly found a copy of the Koran in the vehicle of the assailant, other AFP sources added.
The slain officer, Xavier Jugele, took part in the police operation outside the Bataclan Theatre during the November 13, 2015, terrorist attacks in Paris, French media reported.
In November of 2016, he reportedly told the journal People that he was happy that the theatre was re-opening.
“I’m happy to be here. Glad the Bataclan is reopening. It’s symbolic. We’re here tonight as witnesses. Here to defend our civic values. This concert’s to celebrate life. To say no to terrorists,” he told the journal at the time.
Meanwhile, French media have named the slain police officer as 37-year-old Xavier J.
"All our thoughts go to his colleagues and family, whom the police community have tried to support as much as possible throughout the night," Celine Berthon, a French police union chief, told Europe 1 radio.
Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve has lashed out at presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen, accusing her of exploiting the attack to score political points.
“She seems to be deliberately forgetting everything that has been done over five years to make people forget that she opposed everything, without ever proposing anything serious or credible,” he said.
According to Cazeneuve, “after every drama, the National Front candidate seeks to profit... to divide.”
“She [Le Pen] seeks, without shame, to exploit fear and emotions for purely political ends,” he added.
Cazeneuve criticized another French presidential candidate, Francois Fillon, slamming his record on security when he was prime minister.
Police found notes in the car of the Champ Elysees attacker containing the address of the General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI), a French counter-terrorism and counter-espionage agency located in Levallois-Perret commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris. They also found the address of a police station in Lagny commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, as well as the addresses of three gun shops.
French Presidential hopeful Emmanuel Macron has called upon France to unite and reject “fear.”
“Don’t yield to fear, don’t yield to division and intimidation. Our generation must rise to this challenge,” he said in a statement from his campaign headquarters.
According to Macron, “the weakening of local intelligence services implemented almost 10 years ago was a mistake.”
Many shops on the Champs Elysees have been closed, according to photos on social media.
Police found a shotgun and several knives in the alleged attacker’s car, AP reported, citing the Paris Prosecutor’s Office.
French presidential hopeful Francois Fillon has called for the creation of an international coalition to fight terrorism.
"My foreign policy [if elected president] would be focused on the destruction of Islamic State [IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL], I would propose an initiative to build an international coalition,” Fillon said, speaking at his campaign HQ.
According to Fillon, “the more the US, Europe, Russia, Iran, Turkey, and the countries of the Gulf are divided, the more the victory against Islamic totalitarianism is delayed."
"From Washington to Moscow, I would take diplomatic initiative to create conditions for an international coalition against terrorism,” he concluded.
The Champs Elysee attacker was a French citizen, Belgian Interior Minister Jan Jambon told RTBF channel.
“The criminal killed yesterday was a Frenchman” Jambon said.
“He was certainly not a Belgian [citizen]. Are there links with Belgians? I can’t comment on this part on the investigation,” he said.
According to the minister, the attacker was known to Belgian security services.
Three family members of the suspected attacker who was shot dead on Thursday evening were detained late Friday night at his home in the Chelles commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France’s 20 Minutes newspaper reported, adding that they were taken into custody.
The man France alerted Belgian security services to as a possible suspect in the Paris shooting has turned himself in to Belgian police in the city of Antwerp, French Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said, as cited by French and Belgian media.
“The man who was the subject of a search called by the Belgian authorities came to a police station in Antwerp,” Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre -Henry Brandet said, as cited by AFP.
France’s security forces have been mobilized, including elite units, Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said.
“The government is fully mobilized. Nothing must be allowed to impede the fundamental democratic process of our country. It falls to us not to give in to fear and intimidation and manipulation which would play into the hands of the enemy,” he said.
A Belgian federal prosecutor said there are no indications that the attacker was Belgian, adding that his identity remains unclear, Reuters reported.
French Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said in an interview on Europe1 radio that French police are currently looking for a man who has been identified by Belgian Security services in connection with the shooting.
Commenting on the shooter, Brandet stated: “This individual was known to police services, [he was] a dangerous individual.”
20 April 2017
A video allegedly showing one of the ongoing raids in the suburbs of Paris has appeared on Twitter.
A foreign female passerby was injured in the Champs Elysees attack, Paris prosecutor Francois Molins told BFMTV. The woman was slightly injured, Molins said, without disclosing the nationality of the victim.
French Interior Ministry spokesperson Pierre-Henry Brandet has said that the injuries incurred by a second police officer in the attack are not life threatening, according to BFMTV.
"The identity of the attacker is known and has been checked. I will not give it because investigations with raids are ongoing," Paris prosecutor Francois Molins told reporters. "The investigators want to be sure whether he had or did not have accomplices."
The alleged identity of the attacker has been circulating in unconfirmed French media reports, which said he was previously jailed for an armed attack on police, and had been included in the security threats database as a potential extremist. None of the details could be immediately verified.
The gunman has been identified by authorities, who are are continuing to assess whether he had any accomplices, according to Reuters. Police are also continuing to carry out raids, although the location of these is not yet known.
Juliette Méadel, secretary of state to the prime minister, has denounced the shooting as “cowardly,” adding online that “the forces of order are also victims of terrorism."
Images emerge of the immediate aftermath of the shooting.
Marine Le Pen is preparing to postpone her presidential campaign events on Friday, according to AFP. The National Front leader also expressed her sadness for “security forces who are paying a heavy price.”
Speaking to Reuters, an eyewitness identified only as Chelloug said he saw how the man “got out of a car and opened fire with a Kalashnikov on a policeman.”
"The policeman fell down. I heard six shots, I was afraid. I have a two year-old girl and I thought I was going to die... He shot straight at the police officer,” the eyewitness said.
Socialist presidential hopeful Benoit Hamon says France must be “ruthless” with those “who want to challenge our values in our democracy.”
“I send my thoughts to the family of the killed policeman,” he posted on Twitter.
Official French government Twitter account urges social media users not to spread rumors following latest the attack.
“Tonight, I want to show all my solidarity with our law enforcement,” presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron posted on Twitter.
Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) have claimed responsibility for Paris shooting, Reuters reports, citing the Islamic extremist network, Amaq News Agency. It also named Abu Yusuf al-Beljiki as the man behind the attack.
President Hollande confirmed that a “national tribute” will take place for the killed and wounded police officers.
A photo shared by the Elysees Palace shows Hollande meeting with Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, Interior Minister Matthias Fekl and Justice Minister Jean-Jacques Urvoas.
French presidential candidate Francois Fillon praises security forces “who give their lives to protect ours.”
Fillon has also called for Friday’s planned campaign events to be cancelled following the shooting, according to Reuters.
Hollande will hold a security meeting with his cabinet on Friday morning. The president says vigilance will be high for Sunday's upcoming election.
“Everything must be done to help policemen and the military carry out their mission,” Hollande said in a live broadcast. “We have a great determination to fight terrorism here and everywhere our forces are engaged.”
French President Francois Hollande believes the shooting was of "terrorist nature."
In a tweet Thursday, National Front leader Marine Le Pen expressed her solidarity with the security forces.
French Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve has paid tribute to the policeman killed on the Champs Élysées. “Solidarity with injured colleagues and their relatives,” he tweeted.
The assailant has been shot dead by security forces. Police are now searching for a vehicle believed to have been used by the individual, according to the InteriorMinistry on Twitter.
The French Interior Ministry confirmed that a Paris police officer has been fatally shot and two others were wounded in the shooting. The street has been locked down as security forces begin their investigation.