Tragedy struck as a knifeman took the lives of two people and injured seven others outside a bakery in France.
Today, on April 4, the attack unfolded, coinciding with the country’s third week of lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to local media reports, the assailant is said to have exclaimed “Allahu Akbar” before launching the attack on at least 9 people who were waiting in line to enter the bakery in Romans-sur-Isère, southern France.
Reports by local media indicated that the alleged attacker, claiming to be from Sudan, first attacked a Romanian resident who had just stepped out for a walk, horrifyingly slitting his throat in front of his girlfriend and son.
The attacker then proceeded to a tobacco shop, where he stabbed the tobacconist and two customers. Subsequently, he entered a local butcher’s shop where he grabbed another knife and assaulted a customer before moving on to a supermarket, forcing some shoppers to seek refuge in a nearby bakery.
The suspected attacker, who claimed to be Sudanese and born in 1987, was not identified by prosecutors. While the anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office is assessing whether the attack was terrorism-related, no formal proceedings have been initiated to address it as such.
France is currently under strict lockdown measures due to the Covid-19 pandemic, restricting residents to essential activities such as shopping or seeking medical care.
The country has recorded over 83,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and a death toll exceeding 6,500.