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Synagogue attack suspect caught after shootout with French police

Four people are now in custody after two cars were set alight in a car park under the synagogue in the southern city of Nimes

Published: Sun 25 Aug 2024, 3:35 PM

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  • AFP

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French anti-terror judiciary police investigators work after cars were set on fire in front of the synagogue in La Grande-Motte, France, on August 24, 2024. — Reuters

French anti-terror judiciary police investigators work after cars were set on fire in front of the synagogue in La Grande-Motte, France, on August 24, 2024. — Reuters

French police arrested a suspect for an attack on a synagogue after a shootout in which the man was wounded, a source close to the investigation said Sunday.

The suspect, a 33-year-old Algerian, was detained in the southern city of Nimes on Saturday night, a few hours after the attack on the synagogue in the nearby seaside resort of La Grand Motte in which a police officer was injured.

The investigation source said that four people are now in custody after two cars were set alight in a car park under the synagogue, causing an explosion just 30 minutes before its Saturday service.

The main suspect was wounded in a shootout with specialist officers who had been hunting him, according to the source. The suspect's life was not in danger.

The suspect, who was wearing a Palestinian flag around his waist, was caught on closed circuit television staging the attack, according to images seen by AFP.

After visiting the synagogue, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said that "an absolute tragedy" had been narrowly avoided.



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