Two municipal police officers were injured in the Southern French city of Toulouse on Monday afternoon by a knifeman who reportedly shouted “Allahu Akbar” during the attack.
According to a report by the French paper of record Le Figaro, three officers were on patrol in their squad vehicle on Monday afternoon when they were approached by a man who claimed to be seeking information.
When the man approached the passenger’s side window, his demeanour was said to have changed, and he began to insult and threaten the officers. He then brandished multiple knives at the officers.
Apparent footage of the altercation was widely circulated on social media, showing the officers struggling to detain the knifeman, and they reportedly suffered minor wounds while detaining the man on the ground.
During the attack, the assailant is said to have shouted the jihadist war cry “Allahu Akbar” multiple times.
The Mayor of Toulouse, Jean-Luc Moudenc, confirmed that the attacker had made “terrorist-motivated remarks”.
Two of the officers were treated for “slight” injuries at the Rangueil University Hospital. According to Le Figaro, the female officer, who had several stitches put in her arm, was likely saved from further harm due to her bulletproof vest, which took the brunt of three knife blows.
The male officer was also forced to have several stitches put in his neck after the knifeman had “aimed at the carotid artery without achieving his goals.”
The paper further reported that the attacker was carrying three knives at the time, including two “oyster knives” and a Swiss Army knife.
Despite the apparent religious motivation of the attack, police were quick to claim that the assailant likely suffered from some mental health malady. Given the apparent diagnosis, he was taken to the psychiatric unit at the local Purpan Hospital.
The Toulouse-based La Dépêche du Midi newspaper cited a source with knowledge of the case as saying: “We’re dealing more with a mentally unstable individual, a drug addict who got into a fight with everyone that day, than with a radicalised person.”
At the time of this reporting, the suspected attacker and his background have yet to be publicly identified.
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