According to our information, he had arrived in France by train from Italy on 1 February, specifically to “commit his crime”, as he admitted to investigators, and had been sleeping on the street since his arrival in Paris.
According to a police source in the newspaper Le Parisien, the suspect explained in French that he wanted to “kill people” without mentioning religious motives.
At his hearing, however, he blamed France’s colonial past and its involvement in Mali, where he comes from.
However, investigators have urged prudence, as the investigation has only just begun. And because Salafist content has since been discovered on his TikTok account, which is currently being analysed.
The suspected perpetrator of the attack at the Gare de Lyon railway station, in which three people were injured, one of whom suffered life-threatening injuries, is called Kassogue S. He is a 32-year-old Malian who is legally resident in France. After his arrest, he produced an Italian driving licence to the police officers.
According to Prefect of Police Laurent Nuñez, the person “has been legally residing in Italy since 2016, with a permit issued in 2019 that is perfectly valid”, as can be seen from the documents in his possession.