France: Man screaming 'Allahu Akbar' stabs teacher to death
A teacher at a school in Arras, France, was stabbed to death and two others were gravely injured in a knife attack on Friday, The Associated Press reported. The incident occurred on the day Hamas called for a "Global Day of Rage." Reports said the assailant, who is in his 20s, shouted "Allahu Akbar" before carrying out the attack and has been arrested.
Attacker is former student of the school
The deceased was a French language teacher, while those injured include another teacher and a security guard. The police said the assailant is of Chechen origin and was known for being involved with radical Islam, the BBC reported. His brother has also been arrested. French media reports say he was a former student of the school. The police said the situation was under control.
Assembly suspended, Macron headed to Arras
The National Assembly's session was suspended in solidarity with the victims and President Emmanuel Macron was heading to the crime scene in northern France, France 24 reported. The police said they haven't found any link to West Asia, which is witnessing strife centered in Israel and Palestine. The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas has sparked tensions between France's Jewish and Muslim communities.
France banned pro-Palestine protests
Earlier, France's Interior Ministry banned all pro-Palestine protests, saying they were "likely to generate disturbances to public order." On Thursday, people in Paris came out to support Palestinians, defying the ban. The police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowd. Israel declared war after Hamas launched a surprise attack against it last week. The clashes have claimed around 2,800 lives.
3 years since teacher's beheading
The Arras attack came around three years after the beheading of Samuel Paty, a teacher, at his school in the northwestern suburb of Paris. Paty had reportedly shown controversial cartoons of Prophet Mohammed to his students. The police shot dead the attacker, Abdullakh Anzorov (18), a Russian Muslim refugee after he fired at the police with an airgun.
