AUTHORITIES CONFIRM HE WAS NOT SHOUTING ‘ALLAHU AKBAR’
Paris: A man shot and killed by police in the French city of Avignon claimed allegiance to an anti-immigrant group and had assaulted a merchant of North African descent, authorities have said.
The incident in Avignon on Thursday followed a gruesome knife attack by a man in the southern city of Nice. At least three people died in the stabbings, which took place at church, prompting fears of copycat attacks.
The man in Avignon had a firearm and was shot and killed by police after he refused to drop his weapon and a warning shot failed to stop him, according to a national police official. French media was quick to report that he has been shouting “Allahu Akbar” or God is great but officials later clarified he was not affiliated with Islam but a far-right group instead.
One official said the man claimed to belong to the extreme-right group Generation Identity and had assaulted a local merchant.
Avignon Prosecutor Philippe Guemas told broadcaster France Bleu that the assailant was a 33-year-old born in France “who had nothing to do with the Muslim religion” and appeared to be “psychologically unstable”.
