The perpetrator was carrying a document from the Italian Red Cross when he was arrested.
It was a 21-year-old man from Tunisia who yesterday walked into a church in the southern French city of Nice and killed three people.
He had only resided in France since early October, arriving from Tunisia via Italy, and arriving in Nice, just hours before the attack took place.
This was stated by the French anti-terror state prosecutor, Jean-Francois Ricard, at a press conference last night.
– According to the information we have, he came to Italy via Lampedusa on 20 September. Subsequently, he landed in Bari on 9 October. The investigation continues to uncover the exact course of action, the history of the perpetrator and the possible conspiracies he may have had, said Jean-Francois Ricard, who added that the man was not in the authorities’ spotlight prior to the attack.
The Italian island of Lampedusa is one of the places in the Mediterranean where many migrant boats from northern Africa arrive. The attacker had no identification on him when he was arrested, but he had a document from the Italian Red Cross with the name of a Tunisian citizen born in 1999.
A Koran, two telephones and a 30 cm long knife were also found on him. In addition, police found a bag with two more knives, which were not used in the attack.
Arrived by train the same morning
According to the news agency AP , surveillance videos show that the suspected perpetrator arrived by train in Nice at 06.47 on Thursday morning.
At the train station, he turned his jacket upside down and changed shoes before heading towards Notre-Dame Church, located in the city center, just 400 meters from the city’s main train station.
At half past eight on Thursday morning, he entered the church, after which he went to attack several people with a 30-centimeter-long knife.
Here he killed three people – a 55-year-old male church servant, a 60-year-old woman and a 44-year-old woman. The 44-year-old woman managed to escape to a nearby bar, but subsequently died of her injuries.
