Two people were killed and four others injured in a knife attack in the southeastern French town of Romans-sur-Isère on Saturday, the mayor said. 24 France reports.
The anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office told the Associated Press that the attack took place at around 11am. Prosecutors did not identify the attacker but said he had no documents and claimed to be a Sudanese national born in 1987.
Witnesses told Reuters the man struck at random and in several places while moving around the town centre.
Prosecutors said they couldn’t confirm French media reports that there were seven other casualties of whom one is in critical condition.
The prosecutor’s office said it is evaluating whether the attack was motivated by terrorism but that it has not launched any formal proceedings to treat it as such.
On Twitter, French President Emmanuel Macron said: “My thoughts are with the victims of the attack in Romans-sur-Isère, the wounded and their families. All the light will be shed on this heinous act which plunges our country, already hard hit in recent weeks, into mourning.”
Like the rest of France, the town’s residents are on coronavirus lockdown. The victims were carrying out their weekend food shopping on the street, which has bakeries and groceries.
It was not immediately clear if the attacks had any link to the lockdown. Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said security services were trying to establish the nature and circumstances of the incident.
