Poleaxed with petanque balls, Paris attacker who stabbed British tourists
AN AFGHAN migrant who stabbed two Britons in Paris was knocked out by pursuing petanque players who threw boules at his head.
The 31-year-old attacker, who was carrying a child’s immigration papers, injured seven passers-by after going on a rampage with a 12in knife and an iron bar.
But he was overpowered after being chased by have-a-go heroes. When officers arrived at the scene on Sunday night he was unconscious after being hit on the head with a 2lb boule.
Detectives are treating the knife attacks as attempted murder rather than terrorism.
The offender struck on the Quai de la Loire, by the Ourcq canal, in the north-east of Paris just before 11pm.
Witness Youssef Najah, 28, said: ‘There were around 20 people chasing. They started throwing petanque balls at him.’
Mr Najah said the attacker dived into an alley to hide behind the two male British tourists, who were then attacked.
Boujema Hamani, 27, said he and his friends Allaoua Farid, 44, and Hicham Djellal, 38, tried to save the Britons before they were stabbed. He said: ‘I shouted at them in French to run – one was black and the other white – but we didn’t realise they couldn’t understand.
‘The attacker got to them before they reacted and stabbed the white man five times in his legs, chest and arm. He stabbed the other guy once but it was a critical wound to the stomach.’
The attacker only stopped when Algerian Mr Farid threw a boule at his forehead.
Mr Hamani – also from Algeria – added: ‘Farid got him right in the head and he stumbled.
‘We managed to get the knife off him and restrained him. He looked to be on drugs, his eyes were bulging, and he was holding this knife, making slashing movements. He looked crazy.’
French police said the two Britons hurt in the attack, aged 56 and 53, were in hospital. A 24year-old local man stabbed in the back of his skull is said to have life-threatening injuries.
An Egyptian man, 41, was stabbed in the back, while two local women aged 26 and 44 were hit over the head repeatedly with the iron bar. The seventh victim has minor injuries.