2020 Villejuif stabbing

2020 Villejuif stabbing
Part of Islamic terrorism in Europe
Location
Date
Target	Civilians
Deaths	2 (including the perpetrator)
Non-fatal injuries	2
Perpetrator	Nathan Chiasson
Motive	Islamic extremism

On 3 January 2020 in Villejuif, Paris, France a man killed one person and wounded two other people with a knife before being shot dead by police.

Attack

A man in a park in Villejuif, Val-de-Marne, France shouted "Allahu Akbar" and tried to stab a man, but stopped because the man said he was a Muslim and said a prayer. Then the assailant attacked three other people, killing one man and seriously wounding his wife in the throat. A second woman, who was jogging in the area, also received multiple stabs wounds in her back. The assailant then tried to stab the groundskeeper and a homeless man, but they escaped without any injuries. The attack took place outside a supermarket and the targets were chosen at random. It was reported that the attacker was wearing a djellaba and was bare footed. He shouted "Allahu akbar" when police of the BAC (French: brigade anticriminalité) arrived. They shot him once; as he got up while putting his hand in his pocket he was shot again with an assault rifle because it was suspected that he was wearing an explosive belt. This turned out to not be the case on closer investigation.

Perpetrator

The attacker was Nathan Chiasson, a 22-year-old white male born in 1997 in Les Lilas (Seine-Saint-Denis), who suffered from psychiatric disorders and converted to Islam in mid-2017. He was shot dead by police during the attack. Islamic literature described as salafist was found in a bag.

He is described by his family as presenting very early with "high intellectual capacities", but also with early mental distress. He has been subject to psychiatric care since childhood and has been hospitalized several times, sometimes "at the request of his parents".

After gaining his baccalauréat, Chiasson entered the ESSCA business school in Angers. After a year, however, he stopped this training. "What will create obstacles to the pursuit of your studies ... are your psychological problems and problems of dependence on various drugs.

He was admitted to the Saint-Anne hospital between February and May 2019. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Victims

A 56-year-old Polish-French man was killed while defending his wife, who was injured during the attack along with a 30-year-old woman who was jogging at the park.

Investigation

On 4 January, Counter-terror prosecutors started to investigate the attack. Officials quoted that the perpetrator had a history of mental health problems, but prosecutors said that "an act of terrorism cannot be ruled out just because a person has psychiatric problems".

The perpetrator's partner Marie M., also a convert to Islam, was arrested at her home in Palaiseau on 7 January for links to militants groups. It is suspected that she was planning an attack on the police. At the time of the arrest she had a knife on her hand and expressed her desire to commit suicide by cop. On 8 January she was recovering in hospital from her suicidal thoughts. Doctors said that she has no psychological problems and she was discharged. Security has been raised at the Palaiseau police stations. An investigation is attempting find other Islamists allied with the perpetrator and his wife, and to establish if they formed a terrorist cell.

Aftermath

Secretary of state Laurent Nuñez praised the speedy response of the police which he maintained had prevented further casualties.

References

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