French police on Friday shot dead an armed 29-year-old Algerian Muslim who set fire to a synagogue in the northern city of Rouen was wanted by authorities ‘for several weeks’ before attempting the heinous crime. ‘Youcef C’ was identified by a single Rouen travelcard on his person, allowing him to get around the northern French city where the attack unfolded early this morning, according to local prosecutor Frédéric Teillet.
Times of Israel (h/t Nita) Mayor Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol said the synagogue suffered extensive damage from the fire, but no one else was harmed. He said the Normandy town was “battered and shocked” by the incident, adding that “an armed man somehow climbed up the synagogue and threw an object, a sort of Molotov cocktail, into the main praying room.”
Daily Mail French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said this afternoon the suspect was due to be deported but had requested a ‘residence permit for sick foreigners’ in 2022, an appeal that was thrown out in January 2024 – rendering him ‘wanted.’
The motivations for the attack are still unclear to police, French media reports.
‘Fire engines arrived with police and attempts to start a fire were brought under control,’ he said, adding that the man became aggressive and tried to attack the emergency services upon their arrival. Police fired five times ‘after the man threw an iron bar at officers, and then tried to attack them with a knife,’ the source said.
‘National police in Rouen neutralized early this morning an armed individual who clearly wanted to set fire to the city’s synagogue,’ Darmanin wrote on X.
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said this month that the sharp spike in antisemitic acts in France that followed the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel has continued into this year. The Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France described the synagogue blaze as “a scandalous message” and “a way of saying that Jews don’t belong in French society.”
This week, a Paris memorial honoring people who distinguished themselves by helping to rescue Jews in France during the country’s Nazi occupation in World War II was also attacked, defaced with painted blood-red hands.
The authorities have also placed guards around several of France’s synagogues in anticipation of such attacks.
The shocking incident comes just days after French authorities in Rouen launched an ‘unprecedented’ manhunt after a notorious gangster who escaped jail during a deadly ambush on a prison van earlier this week. Darmanin said ‘all means are being used’ to find Mohamed Amra, 30 – known locally as ‘The Fly’ – after Tuesday’s daring escape.
Two officers were killed and three injured when armed men opened fire on the prison van as it took Amra back to jail from a courthouse in Normandy, sparking national outrage.
Az gal says
At least they shot him dead. Germany- look & learn.
Taffy says
“The motivations for the attack are still unclear to police, French media reports.”
These French police need a crash course in Islam. The Koran and the Hadiths lay out the motivation of Muslims to attack Jews and their possessions and all other infidels.
I’m glad that the “armed man” met Allah by way of a high velocity lead injection.
As for Mohamed Amra, he and his murdering cohorts need to be deported in body bags filled with lard.
munchenfez says
The French people are forced to reap what their treasonous Governments have sown.
Thomas Richard says
The French continue to reap what they have sown……