Man kills mother, sister in knife attack near Paris
French authorities see no apparent terror tie
TRAPPES, France — A man with severe psychiatric problems killed his mother and sister and seriously injured another woman in a knife attack Thursday in a town near Paris, officials said.
French police shot and killed the man soon afterward.
The Islamic State group, which has a history of opportunistic claims, swiftly claimed responsibility for the attack.
French authorities weren’t treating the morning knife attack in Trappes, west of Paris, as a terrorism case, Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said after visiting the scene. He noted the attacker suffered from serious mental health issues although he had also been flagged for glorifying terrorism.
The prosecutor’s office in Versailles, handling the case, said in a statement Thursday evening that motive for the killings “remains uncertain.”
Interior Ministry spokesman Frederic de Lanouvelle said until the investigation advances it won’t be clear “100 percent” whether the attack at the family home was strictly a family drama or was linked to terrorism.
Collomb described the man as “unstable, rather than someone who was engaged, someone who could respond, for example, to orders and instructions from a terrorist organization, in particular from Daesh [Islamic State].”
Said Segreg, a long-time friend of the attacker named him as Kamel Salhi, 36. He said Salhi had no obvious problems, didn’t abuse drugs or alcohol and wasn’t fervently religious.
A government official confirmed Salhi’s name and age, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to discuss details publicly.