2020 Romans-sur-Isère Knife Attack
Attack
The attacker entered a tobacco shop, where he stabbed the two owners and a customer, wounding them; he went on to a butcher's shop, where he stole a knife and killed a customer. He then killed another man, the owner of a local theatre who died shielding his twelve-year-old son, and then wounded two people waiting in line outside a bakery.
The suspect was a 33-year-old Sudanese man who had obtained refugee status and a 10-year visa in 2017. According to Arabic-speaking witnesses, he shouted "Allah Akbar" when he launched his attack and, at the time of his arrest, kneeled down and recited the Shahada, the Muslim profession of faith. A terrorism investigation was launched. Searches at his home revealed handwritten notes complaining about living in a "country of disbelievers". On 8 April, he was indicted for "assassinations and attempted assassinations in connection with a terrorist group".
The attack occurred during the national lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic in France.
See also
- Paris police headquarters stabbing
- 2017 London Bridge attack
- 2016 Nice truck attack
- November 2015 Paris attacks
- 2019 Lyon bombing
- 2019 Lyon stabbings
- Murder of Samuel Paty