A terrorist who stabbed to death a passer-by and injured four others in Paris last night has been identified as an Islamist radical born in Chechnya, reports The Times.
The man, who was born in 1997, was named by the French media as Khamzat Azimov. He was reportedly on a French intelligence agency watchlist of potential jihadists.
Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack through the Amaq News Agency, which is close to the jihadist movement.
Azimov attacked pedestrians with a knife in central Paris before being shot dead by police.
Witnesses said he had lunged at passers-by apparently at random, attempting to stab them in the throat with a box cutter in la Rue de Monsigny, a road full of restaurants near L’Opéra, the Paris opera house. Many heard him shout Allahu Akbar as he carried out the attack.
A 29-year-old man, whose identity has not been revealed, was killed. A 34-year-old man and a 54-year-old woman were hospitalised with life-threatening injuries and underwent emergency operations. Gérard Collomb, the interior minister, said today that both were out of danger.
Three police officers intervened at 8.51pm, four minutes after witnesses had called the emergency services. They initially sought to stop the attacker by using Tasers, the electric stunguns issued to French police. However, when he continued to threaten them, they shot him dead at 8.56pm.
Olivier Woodhead, 40, a Briton who owns L’Entente, a brasserie serving British food in the district where the attack occurred, said he and his barman had gone into the street and seen the jihadi stab a passer-by outside the creperie opposite.
“A police car then drew up and stopped. The man had gone further up the street but when he saw the police he turned round and came back towards them.