The killer, Mickael Harpon, an employee of the préfecture was shot and killed by a colleague after he launched his murderous attack. In the days after the attack on October 3rd no terror group has claimed responsibility but sources close to the police investigation say that Harpon, who was born in the French island of Martinique and converted to Islam as an adult, allegedly "adhered to a radical vision of Islam" and was in contact with individuals from the "Salafist Islamist movement". On Monday morning, five people believed to be close to Harpon were arrested in the Val d'Oise area, a police source told France Info. Police are believed to have staged raids in three locations in the northern suburbs of Paris. Harpon had worked for the Paris police for almost 20 years in the IT department and the possibility of his radicalisation has sparked serious questions over security within the police services, with Interior Minister Christophe Castaner under growing pressure to explain apparent security failures.

Source: The Local October 14, 2019 06:45 UTC