Last Wednesday, at least six people were injured after an unidentified man attacked commuters with a makeshift hook at the Gare Du Nord train station in Paris, restricting access to one of the city’s major rail hubs.
According to French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, an individual began attacking people at 6:42 am and a minute later was disarmed by border police and off-duty police officers traveling home from work. Police initially reported that the suspect was armed with a knife, however, the Public Prosecutor later said that the attacker used a makeshift metal hook, striking the first victim around 20 times.
According to Minister Darmanin, the attacker appears to have made the weapon himself. During the brief attack, several police officers opened fire, including a security agent for rail operator SNCF. The alleged attacker, who was injured in the gunfire, was said to be in critical condition after undergoing surgery.
The injured included two male passengers ages 36 and 41, three female passengers ages 40, 47, and 53, and a 46-year-oldofficer from the border police at the Gare du Nord station. According to prosecutors, only the 36-year-old man remained hospitalized on Wednesday, but he was not in critical condition. The Paris Prosecutor’s Office said the motive for the attack was unknown.
The French Public Prosecutor described the attacker as a male in his 20s who is either Libyan or Algerian. However, determining his precise identity remains in progress. According to the prosecutor’s statement, the individual is “registered under several identities in the automatic fingerprint file” and prosecutors had not questioned him as yet “given the state of his health.”
The French national Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office is “evaluating the facts” about the attack but has not yet taken the case. Since the attacker was injured, it may take longer to evaluate the facts about the incident, the Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office added.
