PARIS (AP) 鈥� A passerby was stabbed to death and three police officers injured Saturday near a crowded market in eastern France. An Algerian man identified as an Islamic extremist with a schizophrenic profile was detained in the attack, the interior minister said.
France's national anti-terrorism prosecutor's office took over the investigation. The attack happened in the city of Mulhouse, located in a region that borders Germany and Switzerland.
Macron said the government has 鈥渃omplete determination鈥� to respond to the attack, which he blamed on 鈥樷�橧slamist terrorism.'' France has been on .
The victim was a 69-year-old Portuguese man, the anti-terrorism prosecutor鈥檚 office said. The three injured included a parking control officer stabbed in the aorta and torso who remained hospitalized, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau told reporters at the scene. The other two sustained lighter injuries.
A 37-year-old Algerian man was arrested, prosecutors said. He said 鈥樷�橝llahu akbar,'' 鈥淕od is great鈥� in Arabic, during the attack, and was armed with a knife and screwdriver, Retailleau said.
The suspect arrived in France without papers in 2014, and was arrested and convicted of glorifying terrorism in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, Retailleau said. Police experts had 鈥砫etected a schizophrenic profile鈥� in the suspect, he added.
After several months in prison for that conviction, the suspect was confined to house arrest as authorities sought to expel him to Algeria. Retailleau lashed out at Algeria for France is seeking to deport.
Tensions have grown in recent months between France and Algeria 鈥� which shook off French rule after a brutal war 60 years ago 鈥� over the return of Algerians accused of inciting violence or other crimes in France as well as
Retailleau noted Islamic extremist attacks recently and other countries, and said France has made 鈥砳mmense progress鈥� since a wave of attacks in 2015 and 2016 linked to the Islamic State group and al-Qaida.
The Associated Press
