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| Man Who Stabbed 3 Near Jewish Center in France Had Been Held for Questioning | |
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| PARIS — The attacker who stabbed three soldiers guarding a Jewish community center in Nice on Tuesday had been questioned by counterterrorism officers and released just days before the attack, a senior police official said on Wednesday. | PARIS — The attacker who stabbed three soldiers guarding a Jewish community center in Nice on Tuesday had been questioned by counterterrorism officers and released just days before the attack, a senior police official said on Wednesday. |
| The man, Moussa Coulibaly, was arrested on Tuesday in Nice, in the south of France, after he lunged at the throat of a soldier near the Jewish center and wounded him and two other soldiers who intervened. The attack raised alarm in a country still reeling from the terrorist attacks last month in and near Paris that left 17 people dead. | |
| Christophe Crépin, a senior police official, said Mr. Coulibaly, who was known to French counterterrorism services, had been questioned by the intelligence services in France after he flew to Turkey on Jan. 28. Turkey is frequently used as a gateway by Europeans seeking to join extremist groups in Syria. But Mr. Crépin said that no formal investigation was opened and that Mr. Coulibaly was released, as there was insufficient evidence that he posed a threat. | Christophe Crépin, a senior police official, said Mr. Coulibaly, who was known to French counterterrorism services, had been questioned by the intelligence services in France after he flew to Turkey on Jan. 28. Turkey is frequently used as a gateway by Europeans seeking to join extremist groups in Syria. But Mr. Crépin said that no formal investigation was opened and that Mr. Coulibaly was released, as there was insufficient evidence that he posed a threat. |
| “We can’t arrest and detain every person who comes back from Turkey,” he said. “We must obey the rule of law, and uphold civil liberties, and there was nothing to suggest Mr. Coulibaly would commit such an attack.” | “We can’t arrest and detain every person who comes back from Turkey,” he said. “We must obey the rule of law, and uphold civil liberties, and there was nothing to suggest Mr. Coulibaly would commit such an attack.” |
| The suspect has the same surname as Amedy Coulibaly, the man who killed four people at a kosher supermarket last month in Paris and was then killed by the police, but the authorities have thus far not established a link between them. | The suspect has the same surname as Amedy Coulibaly, the man who killed four people at a kosher supermarket last month in Paris and was then killed by the police, but the authorities have thus far not established a link between them. |
| While the soldiers were not seriously wounded and no one at the Jewish center was harmed, the case underlines the challenges that counterterrorism forces face when confronted with petty criminals like Mr. Coulibaly. He did not appear to have firm connections to radical Islamic networks, but the authorities said he showed signs of being attracted to Islamic extremism. | |
| The attack also spurred a debate in France about why a man who had recently flown to Turkey and had a checkered criminal past had been released by the authorities without a more extensive investigation. | The attack also spurred a debate in France about why a man who had recently flown to Turkey and had a checkered criminal past had been released by the authorities without a more extensive investigation. |
| “Why was a man with a long criminal rap sheet, who went to a sensitive region known for housing terrorists, allowed to come back to France and permitted to move freely?” Éric Ciotti, a member of the center right Union for a Popular Movement in the National Assembly, asked in a statement posted on his website. | “Why was a man with a long criminal rap sheet, who went to a sensitive region known for housing terrorists, allowed to come back to France and permitted to move freely?” Éric Ciotti, a member of the center right Union for a Popular Movement in the National Assembly, asked in a statement posted on his website. |
| A day after the attack, a clearer image began to emerge of Mr. Coulibaly, 30, whom authorities said had been known to the police for 10 years and had been sentenced six times between 2003 and 2012 for crimes including theft, drug use and verbally assaulting public officials. | A day after the attack, a clearer image began to emerge of Mr. Coulibaly, 30, whom authorities said had been known to the police for 10 years and had been sentenced six times between 2003 and 2012 for crimes including theft, drug use and verbally assaulting public officials. |
| According to Le Monde, Mr. Coulibaly, from Mantes-la-Jolie, roughly 30 miles west of Paris, came to the attention of the intelligence services in recent months after a sports club he attended reported him to the police after he showed signs of “aggressive proselytizing.” The club also reported that he had behaved coldly toward women and had reproached a man at the club for showering naked. But the police decided his behavior did not justify putting him under surveillance. | According to Le Monde, Mr. Coulibaly, from Mantes-la-Jolie, roughly 30 miles west of Paris, came to the attention of the intelligence services in recent months after a sports club he attended reported him to the police after he showed signs of “aggressive proselytizing.” The club also reported that he had behaved coldly toward women and had reproached a man at the club for showering naked. But the police decided his behavior did not justify putting him under surveillance. |
| At the beginning of January, Mr. Coulibaly requested a one-way ticket to Turkey at a travel agency on the French island of Corsica. His behavior and issues with his passport prompted an employee to notify Air France, which called the police, Le Monde said. Unable to legally prevent him from getting on the plane, the intelligence services asked the Turkish authorities to immediately deport him back to France, the newspaper reported. | At the beginning of January, Mr. Coulibaly requested a one-way ticket to Turkey at a travel agency on the French island of Corsica. His behavior and issues with his passport prompted an employee to notify Air France, which called the police, Le Monde said. Unable to legally prevent him from getting on the plane, the intelligence services asked the Turkish authorities to immediately deport him back to France, the newspaper reported. |
| When questioned by the police in Nice, the newspaper said, Mr. Coulibaly said he had been in Turkey as a tourist. He said he wanted to join his girlfriend in Corsica, but provided no address, Le Monde said. Despite their suspicions, the police released him, again citing a lack of evidence. | When questioned by the police in Nice, the newspaper said, Mr. Coulibaly said he had been in Turkey as a tourist. He said he wanted to join his girlfriend in Corsica, but provided no address, Le Monde said. Despite their suspicions, the police released him, again citing a lack of evidence. |
| Instead of traveling to Corsica, he stayed at a hotel in Nice, where he was monitored by intelligence services. But he did not arouse suspicions, news reports said. Days later, he dropped a plastic bag in front of a soldier to distract him, then brandished a knife with an eight-inch blade. | Instead of traveling to Corsica, he stayed at a hotel in Nice, where he was monitored by intelligence services. But he did not arouse suspicions, news reports said. Days later, he dropped a plastic bag in front of a soldier to distract him, then brandished a knife with an eight-inch blade. |
| Alain Grignard, a senior counterterrorism officer with the police in Brussels, said the case illustrated a conundrum in the fight against terrorism, namely that the intelligence services did not have the resources to monitor every person who drew their suspicion. | Alain Grignard, a senior counterterrorism officer with the police in Brussels, said the case illustrated a conundrum in the fight against terrorism, namely that the intelligence services did not have the resources to monitor every person who drew their suspicion. |
| After last month’s terrorist attacks, the French government announced plans to spend an additional 425 million euros, or about $485 million, to create over 2,500 jobs to help combat terrorism and monitor nearly 3,000 people the police consider surveillance targets. But resources are stretched thin, and the French authorities are grappling with how to monitor the more than 1,000 French citizens who went or planned to go to Syria or Iraq to wage holy war last year. | After last month’s terrorist attacks, the French government announced plans to spend an additional 425 million euros, or about $485 million, to create over 2,500 jobs to help combat terrorism and monitor nearly 3,000 people the police consider surveillance targets. But resources are stretched thin, and the French authorities are grappling with how to monitor the more than 1,000 French citizens who went or planned to go to Syria or Iraq to wage holy war last year. |
| “Counterterrorism authorities just can’t stop, arrest or monitor everyone,” Mr. Grignard said. “We have to make difficult choices. Some weeks we are lucky. Some weeks we are not.” | “Counterterrorism authorities just can’t stop, arrest or monitor everyone,” Mr. Grignard said. “We have to make difficult choices. Some weeks we are lucky. Some weeks we are not.” |