Police arrested the man for having a connection with the main suspect of the Nice attack one day before the murders.
Rabat – Police in France arrested a 47-year-old man on Thursday for his alleged connection with the perpetrator of the heinous knife attack in Nice, southeastern France.
Reports said police arrested the man as part of the investigation into the heinous attacks on Thursday, when the main suspect beheaded a woman and killed two more.
The assailant also injured several other people near a church in the French city.
France’s BFM TV cited security sources who said that the second man in custody had been in contact with the attacker a day before he carried out the killing.
Before perpetrating the attack at the church, the main suspect is believed to have shouted: “Allahu Akbar” (God is the greatest).
Police identified the suspect as a 21-year-old Tunisian migrant who recently entered France from Italy.
After searching the crime scene, police seized several blades, two cell phones, and a copy of the Quran, as well as a bag.
French President Emmanuel Macron described the murders as an act of “Islamist terrorism.”
Referencing similar incidents in recent weeks, Macron also said France is “clearly under attack.”
In response to the recent series of attacks, France has raised its security alert to the maximum level.
During the same day, police in Avignon, France, shot a man dead after he threatened people in public.
In Saudi Arabia, police arrested a man for assaulting a guard near the French consulate using a sharp tool. The man caused minor injuries, Saudi News Agency reported yesterday.
All of the attacks took place in a heated context after the gruesome murder of Samuel Paty, a French teacher who displayed the offensive caricatures of Prophet Muhammad in a freedom of expression class.
An 18-year-old man from Chechnya carried out the attack against Paty, causing shocks and indignation across France.
France’s response to the murder, however, caused anger among Muslims around the world. Macron angered Muslims when he said he said France will not give up its caricatures.
The French President also said Paty was killed because Islamists want to hijack France’s future.
The controversial statements come after Macron said “Islam is in crisis worldwide.”
In response, Muslims across the world launched a campaign to boycott French products.
A number of world leaders have also condemned the repeated displays of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, with Turkish President Tayyip Recep Erdogan questioning the mental health of Macron.
“What else can be said to a head of state who does not understand freedom of belief and who behaves in this way to millions of people living in his country who are members of a different faith? First of all, have mental checks,” Erdogan said.
