Afghan asylum-seeker detained in deadly stabbing attack in France

Police detained an Afghan man seeking asylum in France after one person was fatally stabbed and nine others injured Saturday outside a subway station near the city of Lyon, authorities said.

By Associated Press

The assailant in a stabbing attack in Lyon, France on Saturday was a 33-year-old Afghan citizen who had applied for asylum in France and was awaiting a response, according to a national police official. The attacker provided contradictory information to police, but that the attack did not appear to be terrorism-related, two French officials told The Associated Press.

The victim who died was a 19-year-old man, and it was unclear if he knew the attacker, according to local police. Three of the injured are in critical condition, officials said.

The subway station in the Lyon suburb of Villeurbanne was cordoned off, with police combing the area.

A manhunt was initially launched for a second attacker but police later determined that the detained man was the main suspect, two officials said. Police are still looking for possible accomplices.

The officials were not authorized to be publicly named because of French government policy.

The national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office has not been asked to participate in the investigation at this stage. An official with the Lyon regional administration said national security forces weren’t involved in the search, which includes a few dozen local police officers and a helicopter.

France remains on high alert after several deadly Islamic terror attacks in 2015 and 2016.