A fatal knife attack in Mulhouse, eastern France on Saturday resulted in one death and two police officers sustaining serious injuries. President Emmanuel Macron called it an “Islamist terror act“.
The incident, involving a 37-year-old suspect on a terror prevention watchlist, also left three officers with minor injuries, according to prosecutor Nicolas Heitz, AFP reported.
The suspect, who remains in custody, targeted municipal police officers while shouting “Allahu Akbar”. Multiple witnesses confirmed hearing these Arabic words, commonly used as a Muslim expression of faith.
A 69-year-old Portuguese civilian who attempted to intervene was fatally wounded. Macron expressed certainty about the incident’s terrorist nature, pledging continued efforts to combat terrorism in France.
The suspect appears on the FSPRT terror watchlist, established in 2015 following attacks on Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket. The list consolidates information about individuals at risk of terrorist radicalisation.
The attack occurred around 4:00 pm (1500 GMT) during a Congo democracy demonstration in central Mulhouse. One officer suffered a carotid artery injury, another a thorax wound. Military reinforcements arrived while forensic teams collected evidence before rainfall.
Union sources revealed the suspect was Algerian-born, under judicial supervision, house arrest, and faced a French expulsion order. Mulhouse mayor Michele Lutz expressed shock on Facebook, while the national anti-terror prosecutors unit (PNAT) is investigating the case as terrorism-related murder and attempted murder.
Both Macron and Prime Minister Francois Bayrou offered condolences, with Bayrou noting that “fanaticism has struck again, and we are in mourning”.