Because of alcohol

Bordeaux knifeman already attacked people

Police operation in Bordeaux on Wednesday evening

(Bild: AFP)

The knife attacker in Bordeaux had already attacked two people before his attack. The incident took place just a few minutes before the fatal attack on Wednesday evening, a public prosecutor said. The victims were drinking wine on the last day of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan - which may have disturbed the perpetrator.

A 25-year-old man from Afghanistan has been identified as the attacker. According to the newspaper "La Gazette", he wanted to enforce Sharia law in France. "No element points to a terrorist act," said French prosecutor Frédérique Porterie. In the first attack on Wednesday evening, the perpetrator pulled out a knife after several blows and challenged the two wine drinkers to a fight. However, he then walked away.

Here you can see a tweet from the newspaper "La Gazette."

In the second attack, the man attacked two Algerians nearby who were also drinking alcohol. As reported , one victim (37) died from nine stab wounds. His seriously injured companion (26) was saved by emergency surgery. The two homeless victims come from the same village in Algeria.

Nothing points to a terrorist act.

Staatsanwältin Frédérique Porterie

Witnesses: a devout Muslim
The perpetrator is said to have had a large hunting knife with him and to have been wearing an Arabic robe and a headscarf. To witnesses, he appeared to be a devout Muslim.

The police caught the Afghan only a few minutes after the attack. As he had approached aggressively from a few meters away with his knife, he was shot by an officer with an assault rifle. The police officer is said to have acted in self-defense, but an investigation into the incident is underway.

President Emmanuel Macron praised the rapid intervention of the police on Thursday and expressed his sympathy for the victim. France is currently on the highest terror alert level. Armed patrols with military forces are therefore deployed in major cities such as Bordeaux to respond to possible threats.