Arras school stabbing

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Arras school stabbing
Location Arras, Hauts-de-France, France
Coordinates 50°17′16″N2°46′34″E / 50.2878°N 2.7761°E / 50.2878; 2.7761
Date13 October 2023 (2023-10-13)
Attack type
 Mass stabbing
Weapon Knife
Deaths1
Injured3
Motive Islamic extremism [1]

On 13 October 2023, a mass stabbing occurred at the Gambetta-Carnot secondary school in Arras, Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France, France. One person was killed, and three others were seriously wounded.

Contents

The attack was postulated to be connected to rumours that Hamas had called for a global day of terrorism on the 13th. [2] [3] The suspect was previously known to the French security services for his involvement with radical Islamism. [4] [5]

Attack

At around 11:00 CEST on 13 October 2023, the attack began in the school's car park. [6] [7] According to witnesses the suspect was heard shouting "Allahu akbar" during the attack. [8] The attacker was confronted by a teacher and other members of staff including the headmaster before being detained by police. [6] [9]

Casualties

A French language teacher, Dominique Bernard, was killed while another teacher, a security guard and a cleaner were seriously injured. [10] [11]

Suspect

The suspected attacker is a Russian man of Ingush origin [12] who was born in 2003 and moved to France with his family in 2008. [6] Police had arrested him the previous day on suspicion of radicalism. [10] The suspect was known to the French security services for his involvement with radical Islamism; he was arrested by police. [13] The suspect was listed at a state list of potential dangerous persons and the domestic secret service DGSI is said to have, among other things, intercepted his telephone conversations. [14] The suspect is a former student of the school and his younger brother was also detained on the same day. [15] The attacker pledged allegiance to the Islamic State and expressed his hatred for France. [16]

Aftermath

The funeral of Bernard was held in the Arras cathedral with screens used to broadcast the hundred watching outside. Bernard was posthumously awarded the Legion of Honor by French President Macron. [17]

Immediately after the attack France mobilized at least 7,000 soldiers to be stationed around the country for an increase in security. [18] Classes were canceled at the Gambetta-Carnot school where Bernard taught, and bomb threats were seen across the country, in airports, the Louvre Museum and the Palace of Versailles. [17] The school was subject to a bomb threat after Bernard's death but as it had only been open to allow pupils and staff to pay tribute to Bernard and other victims, the process of evacuation was quick. [19]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Pierre de Cossette (17 October 2023). "Attentat d'Arras : le suspect a réalisé une vidéo et un audio de revendication et d'allégeance à l'Etat islamique avant l'attaque". France Info. Archived from the original on 17 October 2023. Retrieved 17 October 2023..
  2. ↑ Liles, Jordan (13 October 2023). "As Situation Worsened in Israel and Palestine, Reports Say Ex-Hamas Chief Called for 'Day of Jihad'". Snopes. Archived from the original on 19 October 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  3. ↑ Norton, Tom. "MSN". www.msn.com.
  4. ↑ "Can Hamas hold back Islamic State in Gaza?". BBC News. 12 June 2015. Archived from the original on 19 October 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  5. ↑ "Israel-Hamas war: 'What is the difference between Hamas and Islamic State?' asks Sky's Mark Austin to Hamas's Dr Basem Naim". Sky News. Archived from the original on 18 October 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 Willsher, Kim (13 October 2023). "Teacher killed and two injured in stabbing at school in northern France". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 13 October 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  7. ↑ "France school stabbing: Here's what we know about the Arras attack". Reuters. 13 October 2023. Archived from the original on 13 October 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  8. ↑ Leicester, John; Petrequin, Samuel; Schaeffer, Jeffery (13 October 2023). "A teacher is dead and 2 people are wounded after a France stabbing attack that echoes 2020 killing". AP News. Archived from the original on 13 October 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  9. ↑ Ataman, Joseph (13 October 2023). "Teacher killed and several people wounded in France school knife attack". CNN. Archived from the original on 13 October 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  10. 1 2 "France school killing was terror attack, says Emmanuel Macron". Sky News. 13 October 2023. Archived from the original on 15 October 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  11. ↑ "France raises alert to highest level after teacher's fatal stabbing". France 24. 13 October 2023. Archived from the original on 13 October 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  12. ↑ Tarkhanov, A. (14 October 2023). "Террорист запросился обратно в школу: Ингуш зарезал французского учителя" [The terrorist asked to return to school: Ingush stabbed a French teacher to death]. Kommersant (in Russian). Moskva: Kommersant. p. 5. eISSN   1563-6380. ISSN   1561-347X. OCLC   244126120.
  13. ↑ "Teacher killed in France school stabbing". BBC News. 13 October 2023. Archived from the original on 15 October 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  14. ↑ "Frankreich mobilisiert nach Messerattacke in Arras 7000 Soldaten für Patrouillen". Der Spiegel (in German). 14 October 2023. ISSN   2195-1349. Archived from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  15. ↑ Rossignol, Pascal; Foroundi, Layli; Rose, Michael (13 October 2023). "Teacher killed in Islamist attack on French school, Macron says". Reuters. Archived from the original on 13 October 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  16. ↑ "French prosecutor says alleged attacker in school stabbing declared allegiance to Islamic State". Associated Press. 17 October 2023. Archived from the original on 18 October 2023. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  17. 1 2 "France pays respects to teacher killed in school terror attack". France 24. 19 October 2023. Archived from the original on 19 October 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  18. ↑ Scaeffer, Jefferey; Charlton, Angela (14 October 2023). "France is deploying 7,000 troops after a deadly school stabbing by a suspected Islamic radical". AP News. Archived from the original on 19 October 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  19. ↑ Ross, Alex (16 October 2023). "School where teacher was stabbed to death in France evacuated over bomb threat". The Independent. Archived from the original on 20 October 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
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