“Everything suggests that there was a terrorist attack right in the heart of Notre-Dame Basilica,” Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi told the BBC, calling the attack a manifestation of “Islamofascism”.
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According to Reuters, police armed with automatic weapons created a security cordon around the church on Jean Medecin Avenue, which is the main shopping street in Nice. Ambulances and fire engines arrived at the site.
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French policeman at the crime scene
Foto: Eric Gaillard, Reuters
According to the police, one suspect, probably the perpetrator of the attack, was detained. “When the police arrested him, he repeatedly repeated Allah akbar (God is great),” Estrosi added.
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The investigation of a case of suspected murder with a terrorist motive and the attempted murder was in charge of the anti-terrorist prosecutor’s office. Police and security authorities have confirmed that an investigation into “murder and attempted murder in connection with a terrorist intention” and a criminal association of perpetrators of terrorist acts has been launched.
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In connection with the attack on the city center, the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, called on the people of Nice to avoid the area.
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WITHOUT COMMENT: The attacker killed with a knife in Nice, France
Video: Reuters
Police officers at the crime scene
Photo: Christian Estrosi’s Twitter
According to French media, the perpetrator was detained ten minutes after the attack. One of the victims of the terrorist attack is the administrator of the basilica. At the time of the attack, believers were inside, according to the BBC. One of them managed to escape in time and call the police.
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Security forces at the crime scene
Photo: Alexis Gilli, CTK / AP
The mayor of Nice, Estrosi, believes that it was a terrorist attack, and posted several pictures from the site of the attack on Twitter.
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France has not yet recovered from the brutal attack on high school teacher Samuel Paty, who was beheaded this month by a young man of Chechen origin for showing cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in his lessons, CTK reminded.
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Subsequent advocacy for the right to caricatures and blasphemy by French President Emmanuel Macron has angered parts of the Muslim world, and the governments of some Muslim countries have blamed Macron for spreading anti-Islamic propaganda. It is not yet clear whether today’s attack has anything to do with it.
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On Thursday, word came that a member of the French consulate had been stabbed in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. According to the authorities, his injuries are not serious and the perpetrator has been apprehended. Even in this case, it is not clear whether the attack is related to the recent events in France.
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The attack has already been condemned by domestic politicians, Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček expressed his condolences to the families of the victims on Czech Television, and Prime Minister Babiš expressed his participation in France on his twitter. “At this sad moment, we stand behind You, Emmanuel Macrone, and the Frenchman behind them all.”
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I am absolutely horrified by the barbaric attack in Nice. In this sad moment we stand behind You @EmmanuelMacron and behind all the French.
– Andrej Babis (@AndrejBabis) October 29, 2020
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