Aug. 23 (UPI) — Two people were stabbed to death in a town west of Paris Thursday by a man who’s been on a terror watch list for two years, authorities said.
Officials said the man, armed with several knives, killed his mother and sister and seriously injured another woman on a neighborhood street before he was shot dead by police in Trappes.
“My first thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones. I want to salute the actions and the exemplary mobilization of our police forces,” French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb tweeted. “They are already investigating to establish the circumstances of this tragedy.”
About 15 miles west of Paris, Trappes is on a government list of 30 crime-ridden districts across France that need more police presence. It’s a poverty-stricken area known for problems with gangs and hard-line interpretations of Islam.
Thursday’s was the latest act of terror to hit France. In March, three people were killed and a dozen were injured in separate attacks in southern France that authorities believe were motivated by terrorism.
The gunman, who claimed to be affiliated with the Islamic State, stormed a market in Trèbes and took hostages.
In 2016, dozens were killed celebrating Bastille Day in southeast France and more were injured when a truck crashed into a crowd of people in Nice.
More than 100 people were killed in November 2015 in France’s deadliest terror attack, a coordinated assault on a concert hall and other areas of the capital with gunfire and bomb blasts.
