Five held after deadly police station attack in France
- Police detain potential accomplices after Tunisian man stabbed police official to death near Paris
- Attacker said to have watched jihadist videos on his phone moments before the attack
French authorities detained a fifth person on Sunday in an anti-terrorism investigation seeking to identify potential accomplices and motives after a police official was fatally stabbed at a police station outside Paris.
French police killed the 37-year-old Tunisian attacker soon after he stabbed the unarmed administrative employee on Friday at the entrance of her police station in the town of Rambouillet.
In a news conference on Sunday, anti-terrorism prosecutor Jean-Francois Ricard said police are questioning a cousin of the suspect.
The suspect’s father, a couple who had provided him with an address for mail and other uses, and another cousin were also being questioned, Ricard said.
The female victim, identified as 49-year-old National Police employee Stephanie Monferme, had left the station to extend her time on a parking meter and was followed into the entry area and stabbed in the abdomen and throat by the attacker. He was then shot to death by a police officer.
The attacker, identified by authorities as Jamel G, entered France illegally in 2009 and was given residency papers at the end of 2019, Ricard said. He was a practising Muslim according to his father, Ricard added.