Join on WhatsApp
Join on Telegram
Rabat – Flights are being resumed gradually at France’s Orly airport, following Saturday morning’s fatal shooting of a man identified only as Zied B.
According to Reuters, Zied B’s day began in Stains, near the Le Bourget airport. After shooting an officer during a routine road check he fled the area in a car, ending up in the Paris suburb of Vitry. There he hijacked another car and threatened customers at a car, according to Interior Minister, Bruno le Roux.
From there the man described by authorities as a 39-year-old “radicalized Muslim,” approached the Orly airport and engaged in a struggle with a female air force officer as he attempted to steal her assault rifle. After what other members describe as an “extremely violent attack,” the two fell to the ground where other team members shot Zied B and killed him.
The airport was immediately evacuated and flights were cancelled. Zied B’s father and brother were subsequently arrested after it was revealed by BFM-TV that the perpetrator texted his father “I’ve screwed up. I’ve shot a policeman.” Zied B was already on the police and intelligence watchlist for theft and drug offences.
French President, Francois Hollande, declared it was time to fully reactivate the “Sentinelle” security system that was put into place following militant attacks in 2015. For now, the case has been turned over to anti-terrorism prosecutors.
Orly is France’s second-busiest airport. Flights has been resuming gradually, with all flights in the west terminal resumed by early Saturday afternoon.
