Machete attack near former Charlie Hebdo premises

Steph Deschamps / September 25, 2020

Two people wounded with knives at the foot of the old Charlie Hebdo building, in the midst of the January 2015 terrorist attacks: what we know about the attack which takes place in a context of increased threats to the weekly satirical.

Shortly before noon, a man armed with a bladed weapon wounded two people, a man and a woman, near the former offices of the satirical weekly, rue Nicolas Appert, in the 11th arrondissement of Paris.

"Their lives are not in danger, thank goodness," Prime Minister Jean Castex said during a visit to the scene. The two victims are employed by the Premiers Lines agency, located in the street. They were on a "cigarette break" when the assailant appeared.

- Who are the suspects arrested?

Shortly after the incident, a man was arrested near the Place de la Bastille. The 18-year-old is the "main perpetrator," said Jean-François Ricard, the head of the national anti-terrorism prosecutor's office (Pnat), in charge of the investigation. According to the first elements, he was born in Pakistan.

A second person, 33, was then taken into police custody "in order to carry out a number of checks" on "his relationship with the main perpetrator," Ricard said.

The judicial information opened by the Pnat for "attempted assassination in connection with a terrorist enterprise" and "criminal terrorist association" was entrusted to the Paris judicial police and to the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI).

The judicial information opened by the Pnat for "attempted assassination in connection with a terrorist enterprise" and "criminal terrorist association" was entrusted to the Paris judicial police and to the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI).