The knife-wielding attacker who murdered 4 folks at a Paris police station adhered to a “radical vision of Islam,” French anti-terrorism prosecutors say. The knifeman apparently transformed to Islam 10 years in the past.
Mickael Harpon, a 45-year-old police pc skilled with 15 years’ expertise on the drive, was shot lifeless by fellow officers on Thursday, after killing 4 folks and wounding two in a stabbing rampage at police headquarters in Paris.
Though terrorism was not declared the motive within the assault, the case was handed over to the nation’s anti-terrorism prosecutor on Friday. The prosecutor stated on Saturday that Harpon adopted a “radical vision of Islam,” following media reviews a day earlier that he had transformed to the religion 18 months previous to the assault.
However, authorities now say the suspect transformed to Islam round 10 years in the past, and displayed indicators of “latent radicalization.” He additionally exchanged 33 textual content messages together with his spouse within the runup to the assault, all of which had been of a spiritual nature, prosecutors stated on Saturday.
French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner stated that Harpon – whose rampage was ended with a shot to the top from an computerized rifle – had “never shown any behavioral problems” throughout his time with the drive. Harpon’s spouse, nonetheless, instructed investigators that her husband “heard voices” and had change into “incoherent” on Wednesday night time, earlier than waking “abruptly” on the morning of the killing spree.
As prosecutors probe Harpon’s non secular leanings, the French authorities went out of its approach to urge folks to not leap to conclusions.
“It is important to emphasize you are not a terrorist [just] because you are Muslim, and converting to Islam is not an automatic sign of radicalization. The facts need to be looked at carefully,” authorities spokeswoman Sibeth Ndiaye instructed Franceinfo radio on Friday.