Man kills two family members in France; ISIS takes credit for murders

While the two victims in a French stabbing attack appear to be the suspect’s mother and sister, ISIS claimed the attack was ideologically motivated.

By: Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

A man went on a stabbing rampage in the French town of Trappes Thursday morning, leaving two people dead before being neutralized by the police.

The British Daily Express reported a security source saying that the assailant “disappeared into a house when police arrived at the scene, and when he came out he was shot.”

The attacker was said to be in his thirties, and has reportedly been known to the French security services for the last two years. However, the police have so far only said that the motive for the attack was “under investigation.”

Meanwhile, Reuters reported that Islamic State issued a statement claiming that one of its members was responsible for the attack, although it provided no proof.

The last knife attack in Paris by an Islamic terrorist occurred just over three months ago. On May 12, a 21-year-old Chechnyan-born French Muslim killed one pedestrian and wounded several others near the Opera House before being gunned down by police. The man, identified as Khamzat Azimov, had been on a counter-terrorism watch list since 2016.

The Islamic State took credit for the attack.

At the time, French President Emmanuel Macron said that France had “paid once again the price of blood but will not cede an inch to the enemies of freedom.”

As details about the attack on Thursday emerged, including the fact that the victims were the suspect’s family members, it became apparent that the murders likely had no connection to ISIS.

Several hours after the attack, Interior Minister Gerard Collomb announced that French prosecutors were not treating the attack as a terrorism case, reported AP. While Collomb described the attacker as suffering from severe mental health issues, the man was also previously identified by authorities for glorifying terrorism.