Attacker ready ‘to die for Allah’
Frenchman pledged ‘slaying campaign’
PARIS: Frenchman Ziyed Ben Belgacem, who was shot dead by a soldier on Saturday at Paris’ Orly airport, was ready “to die for Allah” and had vowed to slay others.
The 39-year-old Paris-born Frenchman was killed as he attacked a soldier, grappling with her and trying to steal her assault weapon, ending an hours-long spree of violence.
Belgacem had a string of criminal convictions and showed signs of Islamic radicalisation.
Paris prosecutor Francois Molins described him as “an extremely violent individual” harbouring terrorist instincts and his neighbours said he was a “devil” with a “scary face”.
His rap sheet paints a picture of a seasoned criminal, well-used to courts and spells behind bars. He had nine entries on his record, from violence to receiving stolen goods. In 2001, he was sentenced to five years in prison for armed robbery.
This was not his last stint in prison. In 2009, he was handed successive sentences of three and five years for drug trafficking.
While he was in prison, officials noticed “signs of radicalisation”, according to prosecutor Mr Molins, and he was known to police but not considered a serious threat. His house was searched, with no result.
The attacker lived on the sixth floor of a building in the northeastern Paris suburb of Garges-les-Gonesse, in the multi-ethnic Seine-St-Denis area. Neighbours described him as a withdrawn, serious man whom nobody really knew. He seemed lonely, they said.
No one had any idea of his spells in prison although, after his most recent release from jail in September, he had been under judicial monitoring.
“The last time I saw him was three days ago. He had a determined air, as if he wanted to fight with his family or colleagues,” said one neighbour called Hamid.
“Sometimes, we’d meet in the elevator. That’s all. He always wore sports clothes. He has a scary face. A real devil,” said Hatice, another neighbour.
At this stage, there is no indication Belgacem had made trips overseas, according to the Paris prosecutor, unlike many other radicalised Islamists.
Officers found several grammes of cocaine in the apartment and he was a regular at an Italian-Cuban bar in the south of Paris, which was known for its rowdy nights, a local said.
It was to this venue he headed immediately after drawing a gun and firing at officers earlier on Saturday, slightly injuring one in the head. He then burst into the bar, threatened customers and fired again without injuring anyone.
Telling his relatives by phone that he had been up to some “mischief”, he then drove towards what prosecutors described as the “crescendo” of his destructiveness, stealing
a car and heading towards the airport, with a can of petrol and a Koran in his bag.
His attack on the soldier is being treated as a possible act of terrorism, according to the Paris prosecutor’s office.
The chain of events began when Belgacem was stopped by police at 6.55am in the Paris suburb of Garges-les-Gonesse, after he was spotted driving at a high speed with his headlights off, Mr Molins said at a news conference on Saturday evening.
After he pulled over, Belgacem fired a pistol loaded with bird-shot and fled. One police officer was slightly injured. Belgacem then drove to the bar in Vitry-sur-Seine, where he fired his gun again but did not injure anyone. When he exited the bar, he left his mobile phone there.
He fled in his car, but abandoned it a few kilometres away. He then carjacked another vehicle and drove about 13km to the airport. There he spotted a three-soldier unit patrolling the airport, Mr Molins said. At 8.22am, Belgacem, carrying his pistol, tossed a container of gasoline on the floor. He grabbed one of the soldiers and held his gun to her head. Mr Molins said the soldiers reported that he yelled: “I’m here to die in the name of Allah. Whatever happens, people are going to die.” As Belgacem grappled with the soldier, he wrested her rifle from her. At that instant, the two other soldiers fired three bursts from their weapons, killing him.
Mr Molins said the anti-terrorism unit of the prosecutor’s office and the French Intelligence Service had opened an investigation.
Belgacem was carrying cigarettes, €750 (about 28,100 in baht) in cash, a lighter and a Koran at the time of the attack, Mr Molins said. Cocaine, a machete and some foreign currency were later found at his home.