Before being taken into custody on Saturday, a radical Islamist with mental health issues who was well-known to French authorities killed a German tourist and injured two others in downtown Paris, according to officials.
The country was on high alert for attacks due to rising tensions stemming from the conflict between Israel and Hamas when the attack happened near the Eiffel Tower on a busy Sunday night.
“We will not give in to terrorism,” Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne wrote on X, formerly Twitter, after the attack.
Prosecutors for anti-terror in France announced that they will now handle the inquiry.
According to a police source who spoke to AFP, the attacker was receiving mental health treatment and was recognized by authorities as a radical Islamist.
Before being taken into custody, the source said, he yelled “Allahu Akbar” (which means “God is greatest”).
