France terror investigation launched after two are killed in knife attack

● Sudanese refugee arrested by police after knife attack on shop customers

Aterrorinvestigationhasbeen launched after two people were killed and five wounded in a knife attack in south-east France.

Reports said the attacker entered a tobacconist shop in Romans-sur-isère, near Grenoble, and stabbed the owners and a customer.

The suspect, said to be a Sudanese refugee in his 30s who lived in the town, then attacked more people at two other shops before being arrested.

Prosecutors said the man was “found on his knees on the pavement praying in Arabic” when police arrived.

David Olivier Reverdy, of the National Police Alliance union, said the man had asked police to kill him.

Two other people have also been arrested, police said.

Town mayor Marie-helene Thoraval told AFP news agency that after leaving the tobacconist, the suspect went to a butcher’s shop where he grabbed another knife before attacking people queuing outside a bakery.

The butcher’s shop owner, Ludovic Breyton, said: “He took a knife, jumped over the counter, and stabbed a customer, then ran away. My wife tried to help the victim but in vain.”

Counter-terrorism prosecutors have launched an investigation into “murder linked to a terrorist enterprise”.

The suspect was not previously known to the police or intelligence services, according to reports on news website France Bleu.

In a statement, the prosecutor’s office said initial investigations suggest the attacker had “a determined murderous course aimed at seriously disturbing public order by intimidation or terror”.

During a search of the suspect’s home, “handwritten documents with religious connotations were found”, it said.

Prosecutors said they arrested a second Sudanese man at the suspect’s home and yesterday revealed that a third person – “a young Sudanese man from the same household” – was also in custody. President Emmanuel Macron described the attack as an “odious” incident that further saddened a country already going through an ordeal.

“My thoughts are with the victims of the Romans-surisère attack – the injured, their families,” he tweeted.

France is currently in lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic. People are only allowed out to buy basic necessities or for exercise.

The country has been on high alert since 2015, when Paris was hit by a series of attacks attributed to IS.