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Suspect Shot by Paris Police Tied to German Migrant House Suspect Shot by Paris Police Tied to German Migrant House
(about 4 hours later)
PARIS — The man shot to death by the police in Paris last week as he approached a police station with a meat cleaver and fake explosives was a petty criminal who used multiple identities and who lived in a house for asylum seekers in Germany’s most populous state, the German police said on Sunday. PARIS — The man shot to death by the police in Paris last week as he approached a police station with a meat cleaver and fake explosives was a petty criminal who used multiple identities and who lived in a house for asylum seekers in Germany’s most populous state, the German police said on Sunday.
But the authorities in France have not fully confirmed that account, which comes amid increasing tensions in Germany about the influx of more than a million migrants over the past year. A wave of assaults against women in Cologne on New Year’s Eve has led Chancellor Angela Merkel to propose tougher asylum regulations.But the authorities in France have not fully confirmed that account, which comes amid increasing tensions in Germany about the influx of more than a million migrants over the past year. A wave of assaults against women in Cologne on New Year’s Eve has led Chancellor Angela Merkel to propose tougher asylum regulations.
Late Saturday, the police in the western German state of North-Rhine Westphalia acted on a tip from the French authorities and raided an asylum shelter in the town of Recklinghausen where the man had been living, the state police said. Late Saturday, the police in the western German state of North-Rhine Westphalia acted on a tip from the French authorities and raided an asylum shelter in the town of Recklinghausen, where the man had been living, the state police said.
The police said they had found several SIM cards, documents in Arabic and two kitchen knives. The man had apparently been living there since August, the German authorities said.The police said they had found several SIM cards, documents in Arabic and two kitchen knives. The man had apparently been living there since August, the German authorities said.
Uwe Jacob, the director of police in North-Rhine Westphalia, said at a news conference on Sunday evening that the police had found a banner that read “Islamic State forever” in Arabic on the wall of what appeared to be a communal kitchen.Uwe Jacob, the director of police in North-Rhine Westphalia, said at a news conference on Sunday evening that the police had found a banner that read “Islamic State forever” in Arabic on the wall of what appeared to be a communal kitchen.
Mr. Jacob said that the man, variously described as Tunisian, Moroccan or Georgian, appeared to have used “at least seven identities,” and that his true identity had not been established.Mr. Jacob said that the man, variously described as Tunisian, Moroccan or Georgian, appeared to have used “at least seven identities,” and that his true identity had not been established.
The man first surfaced in Germany in 2013 after living illegally for five years in France, and had been under investigation on suspicion of dealing drugs and weapons, and assaulting and harassing women, Mr. Jacob said.The man first surfaced in Germany in 2013 after living illegally for five years in France, and had been under investigation on suspicion of dealing drugs and weapons, and assaulting and harassing women, Mr. Jacob said.
Besides serving a monthlong jail term in Germany, the man had also been arrested in France and Luxembourg, the German police said.Besides serving a monthlong jail term in Germany, the man had also been arrested in France and Luxembourg, the German police said.
But the French interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, speaking to the iTélé news channel on Sunday, said he could not confirm that the man had spent time in a center for asylum seekers in Germany, nor that he had sought asylum there.But the French interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, speaking to the iTélé news channel on Sunday, said he could not confirm that the man had spent time in a center for asylum seekers in Germany, nor that he had sought asylum there.
“It is an information that I cannot confirm, because I am simply not sure that it is correct,” Mr. Cazeneuve said, adding that news media should exercise the “greatest care” in reporting on the man’s identity and past.“It is an information that I cannot confirm, because I am simply not sure that it is correct,” Mr. Cazeneuve said, adding that news media should exercise the “greatest care” in reporting on the man’s identity and past.
The French police took the man’s fingerprints in 2013 when he was arrested in connection with a theft in the south of France, but he appeared to have lied about his identity at the time, telling the police that he was a Moroccan citizen born in 1995, the Paris prosecutor has said.The French police took the man’s fingerprints in 2013 when he was arrested in connection with a theft in the south of France, but he appeared to have lied about his identity at the time, telling the police that he was a Moroccan citizen born in 1995, the Paris prosecutor has said.
Several people in Tunisia claiming to be members of the man’s family have told Tunisian news media that he had no links to extremist groups. But Mr. Cazeneuve did not express certainty about the man’s identity. Several people in Tunisia claiming to be members of the man’s family have told the Tunisian news media that he had no links to extremist groups. But Mr. Cazeneuve did not express certainty about the man’s identity.
“What we know today is that the identity the investigation had focused on at first was not the right one, that he is probably of Tunisian origin, that his name could be Tarek Belgacem and that he could have stayed in several European Union countries,” Mr. Cazeneuve said, citing Luxembourg, Switzerland and Germany.“What we know today is that the identity the investigation had focused on at first was not the right one, that he is probably of Tunisian origin, that his name could be Tarek Belgacem and that he could have stayed in several European Union countries,” Mr. Cazeneuve said, citing Luxembourg, Switzerland and Germany.
Mr. Cazeneuve said that the man did not have any known accomplices. The Paris prosecutor’s office, which coordinates terrorism investigations in France, said on Sunday that it could not comment on any developments at this stage of the investigation.Mr. Cazeneuve said that the man did not have any known accomplices. The Paris prosecutor’s office, which coordinates terrorism investigations in France, said on Sunday that it could not comment on any developments at this stage of the investigation.
The man was shot to death by the police last week after he brandished a meat cleaver in front of a police station in a north Paris district and appeared to be wearing an explosives vest, which was later determined to be fake.
Police officers found a piece of paper on the man’s body with the Muslim profession of faith, a drawing of the flag of the Islamic State and a pledge of allegiance to the extremist group’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. A cellphone the man was carrying had a German SIM card in it.
The incident set alarms off in France, which was commemorating the first anniversary of the attack at the offices of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and was still reeling from the massacre on Nov. 13 that left 130 dead.
Mr. Cazeneuve, who spoke before attending a ceremony in central Paris that paid tribute to victims of both attacks, said that the threat level in France was “higher than it has ever been” but that its citizens were “more protected than they have ever been.”Mr. Cazeneuve, who spoke before attending a ceremony in central Paris that paid tribute to victims of both attacks, said that the threat level in France was “higher than it has ever been” but that its citizens were “more protected than they have ever been.”
He said 110,000 police officers and gendarmes, as well as nearly 10,000 military troops, were deployed across the country to protect schools, places of worship and other sites.He said 110,000 police officers and gendarmes, as well as nearly 10,000 military troops, were deployed across the country to protect schools, places of worship and other sites.
Asked about the whereabouts of Salah Abdeslam, the only person suspected of being a direct participant in the Nov. 13 attacks who is still at large, Mr. Cazeneuve said the French authorities did not know where he was.Asked about the whereabouts of Salah Abdeslam, the only person suspected of being a direct participant in the Nov. 13 attacks who is still at large, Mr. Cazeneuve said the French authorities did not know where he was.