The crime occurred against a background of extra vigilance in the face of the threat of terrorist attacks. On Thursday December the 23rd, a man was arrested in front of the Sainte-Agnès church in Maisons-Alfort, as reported by Le Parisien. He was armed with a cutter knife and allegedly made threatening remarks. According to initial reports, it was around 2 p.m. when the man appeared in front of the building, which was almost empty as no services were being held there.
He was dressed in a long black coat with a hood, from which wires and “a device that looked like a detonation system hidden in a glove” protruded, as a police officer told Le Parisien newspaper. The law enforcement officers who were dispatched were able to arrest the suspect without anyone being hurt. The church was evacuated and a team of explosives experts, including an explosives detection dog, was deployed to remove all doubt. No explosive devices were reportedly found at the scene or on the author of the threats, who has not been identified even hours after his arrest. The newspaper Le Parisien reported that the 40-year-old was “wearing a whole series of amulets and may not have been sane”.
Religious sites, especially churches, are under increased surveillance during the Christmas season. At the end of November, two men had been arrested by the DGSI for planning attacks during the holidays. On Monday December the 20th, the cathedral in Toulouse also had to be evacuated because of the suspicious behaviour of one person.