A radical Islamic terrorist, who was on a watch list for potential terrorist threats, stabbed a policewoman inside a police station and injured two others in western France on Friday before being shot by the police.
According to the reports, the 40-year-old terrorist, who had been on a watch list for Islamic radicalism, entered the police station in La Chappelle-Sur-Erdre in Nantes, France, on Friday morning and stabbed the woman police officer several times with a knife. Two others have also suffered serious injuries during the terrifying terror attack on Friday.
The woman officer, identified as Katell Lerech, is fighting for her life after being stabbed in the terror attack. The terrorist, who reportedly belongs to Tunisia, has been shot dead by the police after he escaped with the officer’s pistol. Katell, who is in her 40s, lives in Les Touches of Nantes with her partner.
The victim was seriously wounded but expected to survive, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said. “He was flagged in 2016 for a strict practice of Islam, for radicalisation,” Minister Darmanin said.
Terrorist stole pistol from officer, fled the spot
The terrorist – Ndiaga Dieye-was released from prison in March after serving an eight-year sentence for violent crime. He was on a security services register for his”rigorous” religious practices and was considered a terrorism risk. The terrorist had also been diagnosed with schizophrenia.
The attacker fled the spot in a car, but he crashed. Later, he entered an apartment building where he held a young woman hostage for more than two hours.
More than 250 officers launched a manhunt to nab the terrorist. Hours later, the suspect emerged onto the balcony of his captive’s flat and opened fire on officers. According to the witness, the attacker was brandishing the pistol taken from the police officer he stabbed.
After firing at the officers, he fled into a field where he fired several more times at officers, before being killed in an encounter.
In April, in a similar incident, a female police officer in France was stabbed to death in Rambouillet, a town southwest of Paris. The attacker was identified as a Tunisian migrant. He was shot dead by her colleagues in the aftermath of the stabbing. The attacker allegedly shouted ‘Allahu-Akbar while carrying out the attack. The attacker was reportedly unknown to the intelligence officials or the police.
France has been a victim of Islamist terror attacks since the beheading of Samuel Paty and Emmanuel Macron’s defence of freedom of expression.