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Gunman Is Killed After Attacking Soldier at France’s Orly Airport Gunman Is Killed in Orly Airport in France After Attacking a Soldier
(about 7 hours later)
PARIS — A man who attacked a soldier at Orly Airport outside Paris on Saturday was fatally shot in what the Paris prosecutor’s office is treating as a possible act of terrorism. The attack occurred shortly after the man shot at a police officer during a routine traffic stop in a Paris suburb, the French interior minister said. PARIS — An attack on a soldier at Orly Airport near here on Saturday is being treated as a possible act of terrorism, according to the Paris prosecutor’s office. The assailant, the prosecutor said, had carried out a burst of violence over a period of two hours before being fatally shot.
The Paris prosecutor, François Molins, said the motives of the assailant — identified as 39-year-old Ziyed Ben Belgacem — were unknown. But the prosecutor added that Mr. Belgacem had a lengthy police record, including arrests for robbery and drug-related offenses, and had served time in prison. He was known to the authorities, Mr. Molins said, but primarily as a criminal.
The shooting at Orly prompted a partial evacuation of the airport, the diversion of all flights and a security sweep to determine whether the assailant had left any explosives at the airport’s two terminals, officials said. Incoming flights were diverted to nearby Charles de Gaulle Airport.The shooting at Orly prompted a partial evacuation of the airport, the diversion of all flights and a security sweep to determine whether the assailant had left any explosives at the airport’s two terminals, officials said. Incoming flights were diverted to nearby Charles de Gaulle Airport.
The chain of events started when the man was stopped by the police in a routine identity check at 6:50 a.m. in the Paris suburb of Garges-lès-Gonesse, Bruno Le Roux, the interior minister, said. The man fired a pistol loaded with birdshot and fled. One police officer sustained minor injuries. The chain of events began when Mr. Belgacem was stopped by the police at 6:55 a.m. in the Paris suburb of Garges-lès-Gonesse, after he was spotted driving at a high speed with his headlights off, Mr. Molins said at a news conference on Saturday evening.
The assailant then carjacked a vehicle in Vitry-sur-Seine, about eight miles north of Orly Airport, and drove to the airport, where he attacked a female soldier who was part of a three-soldier unit patrolling the airport, said Jean-Yves Le Drian, the defense minister. Two soldiers opened fire on the man as he attacked, killing him. After he pulled over, Mr. Belgacem fired a pistol loaded with birdshot and fled. One police officer was slightly injured.
A spokeswoman for the Paris prosecutor’s office said on Saturday morning that its antiterrorism unit and the French Intelligence Service had opened an investigation into the events. Mr. Belgacem then drove to a bar in Vitry-sur-Seine, where he fired his gun again but did not injure anyone. When he exited the bar, he left his cellphone there.
The authorities did not release the man’s name, but the spokeswoman for the prosecutor’s office said he was 39 years old and had a long police record, including arrests for robbery and drug-related offenses. She said that the police had taken both his brother and father into custody for questioning. He fled in his car, but abandoned it a few miles away. He then carjacked another vehicle and drove about eight miles to the airport.
The episode was reminiscent of an attack in February near the Louvre in which a man with two long knives attacked soldiers patrolling in the Carrousel du Louvre, an underground shopping mall. The man injured a soldier before being shot several times. There he spotted a three-soldier unit patrolling the airport, Mr. Molins said. At 8:22 a.m., Mr. Belgacem, carrying his pistol, tossed a container of gasoline on the floor. He grabbed one of the soldiers and held his gun to her head.
The episode on Saturday came amid a heated presidential election campaign in France, with the first round of voting just five weeks away, on April 23. Mr. Molins said the soldiers reported that he yelled: “I’m here to die in the name of Allah. Whatever happens, people are going to die.”
Any terrorist attack so close to the election, political analysts suggest, could be seen as an opportunity by the candidates of the far right, Marine Le Pen, and the center right, François Fillion, to berate the current Socialist government and by association Emmanuel Macron, the center-left candidate, who was previously the economy minister, for failing to protect the French people. As Mr. Belgacem grappled with the soldier, he wrested her rifle from her. At that instant, the two other soldiers fired three bursts from their weapons, killing him.
While both Ms. Le Pen and Mr. Fillon posted Twitter messages about the attack at Orly, they used the episode primarily as an opportunity to praise French soldiers and, in Ms. Le Pen’s case, to underscore some of her campaign themes. She said in her post: “Violence has overwhelmed France, a consequence of the laxity of successive governments. But there is the courage of our soldiers.” Mr. Molins said the antiterrorism unit of the prosecutor’s office and the French Intelligence Service had opened an investigation.
References to the country’s social troubles are a constant part of her campaign speeches, and she mentions them often in conjunction with her campaign slogan, “Putting France back in order.” Mr. Belgacem was carrying cigarettes, 750 euros in cash, or about $800, a lighter and a Quran at the time of the attack, Mr. Molins said. Cocaine, a machete and some foreign currency were later found at his home.
Mr. Fillon limited his Twitter message to praise for the “women and men” of what is known as Operation Sentinel, the soldiers who “work for our security and have once again proved their courage and efficiency.” Mr. Belgacem’s brother, father and cousin were questioned by the police, Mr. Molins said.
The unit attacked at the airport was part of Operation Sentinel, whose 7,000 soldiers patrol public areas, including high-profile locations like airports, large tourist attractions and train stations. While in prison during 2011 and 2012, Mr. Belgacem was identified by intelligence officials as someone who had become radicalized. After his release, he remained on the authorities’ radar, and his house was searched in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris in November 2015, Mr. Molins said, although no action was taken against him.
The French Interior Ministry confirmed that special operations police officers who also deal with terrorism were at the airport, and asked people in the area to stay away from the security perimeter. Explosives experts were also on the scene and had completed their inspection by noon. The episode at Orly was reminiscent of an attack in February near the Louvre in which a man with two long knives attacked soldiers patrolling in the Carrousel du Louvre, an underground shopping mall. The man injured a soldier before being shot several times.
The Orly-West terminal reopened by 1 p.m., and flights resumed, the Paris Airport Authority said. Orly-South, where the attack took place, remained closed so that the prosecutor’s office could complete its investigation. The attack on Saturday came amid a heated presidential election campaign in France, with the first round of voting to take place on April 23.
France continues to be on heightened vigilance after the November 2015 terrorist attacks that killed 130 people, including 90 at the Bataclan nightclub in Paris, and an attack in Nice last July that killed 86 people when the driver of a truck plowed into a crowd of people who had gathered to watch Bastille Day fireworks. Any terrorist attack so close to the election, political analysts suggest, could be an opportunity by the candidates of the far right, Marine Le Pen, and the center right, François Fillon, to berate the current Socialist government and by association Emmanuel Macron, the center-left candidate, who was previously the economy minister, for failing to protect the French people.
The attack at Orly increases the likelihood that France’s state of emergency, which has been in effect since November 2015, will remain in place. The justice minister had suggested this past week that it might be possible to lift it. While both Ms. Le Pen and Mr. Fillon posted Twitter messages about Saturday’s attack, they used the episode primarily as an opportunity to praise French soldiers and, in Ms. Le Pen’s case, to underscore some of her campaign themes. She said in her post: “Violence has overwhelmed France, a consequence of the laxity of successive governments. But there is the courage of our soldiers.”
The top government official in the area of the airport asked that passengers on their way to Orly stay away for the time being. Mr. Fillon limited his Twitter message to praise the “women and men” of what is known as Operation Sentinel, the soldiers who “work for our security and have once again proved their courage and efficiency.”
The unit attacked at the airport was part of Operation Sentinel, whose 7,000 soldiers patrol public areas, including airports, tourist attractions and train stations.
The west terminal at Orly reopened by 1 p.m., the Paris airport authority said. Flights gradually resumed at the south terminal, where the attack took place.