The man who allegedly tried to set fire to the Angoulême town hall was quickly arrested. Still hospitalized, his profile is troubling investigators.
This Wednesday, a man dressed in military fatigues burst into the Angoulême town hall around noon armed with a can of petrol and a chain. He allegedly started a fire in an office before one of the assistants present in the room pulled the alarm button. The individual was then quickly intercepted by a municipal police officer who, given his virulence, ended up shooting him twice.
The suspect is therefore in hospital and has not yet been able to be questioned given his condition. No other injuries are to be deplored. An investigation has been opened by the public prosecutor for “attempted aggravated homicide and destruction of public property by dangerous means” as well as against the police officer who opened fire.
According to the city’s mayor, France Infothere does not appear to be any “dispute” between the arrested man and a person from the town hall and he is not known to the municipal services either. His profile was then analyzed more closely. According to Free Charenteit would be Mustapha K., a 46-year-old man born in Morocco and of French nationality living in the commune. He would have been living in France for about fifteen years. He would have recently gone through a difficult period following a separation. He would then have distanced himself from those around him, falling into depression.
Elements that raise questions
According to a neighbor, near Free Charente the man “was not his usual self” on the day of the incident. “He was angry, he came down like a madman with two spray paint cans,” she said. He was previously seen as someone rather discreet, who had never attracted attention. Jérôme Harnois, the prefect of Charente, for his part, clarified, to BFMTV, that the suspect was unknown to the “specialist” services. He has no criminal or psychiatric record.
In addition, the police discovered the profession of faith of Islam written on the body of his car. He also reportedly shouted “Allah U Akhbar” in the ambulance that was taking him to the hospital. The bomb disposal experts also found about ten small gas canisters in his car. They were new but thrown in bulk in the back of the vehicle among a mattress, a duvet, computers, shoes, etc. These details raise questions about the attacker’s motivations. No link has yet been established with a “terrorist enterprise”.