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French prosecutor charges high-speed train shooter

A man who grabbed and fired a policeman's gun on a high-speed train to Paris has been charged with attempted murder and held in custody, French prosecutors said Saturday.

Published: 16 July 2023 10:06 CEST
Annecy
The man, now charged with attempted murder, used a hammer to smash a window on the service linking Annecy with Paris on Thursday. Pictured is the alpine town of Annecy in southeastern France. Photo by Hilderose C on Unsplash

Brought before an instructing magistrate, the suspect “remained silent”, the prosecutors’ office in the eastern French town of Chalon-sur-Saone said, adding that the man was a Romanian citizen.

After the man used a hammer to smash a window on the service linking Annecy with Paris on Thursday, a train inspector called for help from an armed policeman on board.

During a struggle the man seized the officer’s service weapon and allegedly fired off a shot before he could be brought under control with the intervention of several passengers.

There were no injuries reported.

Police also found a switchblade in the man’s pocket.

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CRIME

Teens charged in France over plot to attack Jewish targets: judicial source

French prosecutors have charged a 19-year-old man and a youth in the Paris region with planning a "terrorist" attack on Jewish targets, a judicial source told AFP on Friday.

Published: 22 June 2024 12:47 CEST
Teens charged in France over plot to attack Jewish targets: judicial source

While no details on the pair have been released, French anti-terrorist investigators have expressed increased concern over the young age of some suspects detained in recent months for planning militant attacks.

The 19-year-old has been charged with “terrorist conspiracy” to commit attacks and the “acquisition and possession of arms for a terrorist enterprise,” said the judicial source, speaking on condition of anonymity.

READ ALSO: Anti-Semitism fears stalk Jewish voters’ choice in France

The youth aged under 18 was detained on June 13, the source said.

The pair made contact on social media and were planning a “a violent action notably aiming at Jewish targets,” said the source without giving details on the plot.

Anti-terrorism investigators say a growing number of youths have been held in recent months for preparing attacks.

READ ALSO: French election breakdown: TV debates, polling latest and anti-Semitism

“This is a necessarily worrying phenomenon,” senior anti-terrorist prosecutor Olivier Christen said at an evidentiary hearing on Wednesday.

French politicians have also condemned a growing number of attacks on the country’s Jewish community, the biggest outside Israel and the United States.

Outrage has been expressed over the rape of a 12-year-old Jewish girl in a park in the Paris suburbs last Saturday. Two 13-year-old boys have been charged with rape and making anti-Semitic insults.

Several protest rallies have been held in Paris and other French cities over the case which comes as France prepares for a national election in which the far-right National Rally party is tipped to make major gains. 

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