A 35-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday, September 8, at the Church of Saint-Rémi in Forbach (Moselle), where, according to the newspaper JDD, he had entered the building shouting “Allah akbar”. Several witnesses stated that he was looking for the parish priest, who was not present at the time of the incident.
The police arrested him inside the building. He was armed with a knife at the time. The man is a foreign national and is legally resident in France. He is known to the Criminal Records Authority (TAJ), but not to the regional intelligence services in connection with radicalisation.
He was taken into police custody. The investigation has been handed over to the criminal investigation department.