PARIS — Paris’ public prosecutor’s office launched a judicial investigation into an “attempted murder” on Sunday after seven people were injured by a sharp metal hook at a crowded Paris train station on Wednesday.
In a statement, Paris prosecutor Laure Bequaud said her office had asked the man suspected of the attack to be detained pending further investigation. He was shot and wounded by police during an attack on the Gare du Nord station.
Six victims, including a police officer, were soon found, according to a prosecutor’s statement, but a seventh injured man, a 53-year-old man, who left the scene, was later found.
Beccuau said the perpetrator’s identity had not been formally established. Investigators said he was a 31-year-old Algerian national, and French authorities said he had multiple identities for burglary, theft and rioting charges in 2019 and 2021.
He received orders to leave French territory in 2020, detailing a statement last September.
A preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect jumped on the man in front of the train station and stabbed him about 20 times for no reason. The perpetrators then broke into the station and attacked other civilians and police officers. The scream alerted two other police officers who intervened.
Beccuau said the judicial investigation aimed to clarify the exact behavior, motives and personality of the alleged perpetrator.
