Radicalized inmate shouts, 'Allahu Akbar' and stabs two guards in French prison - UPDATE

RT
Tue, 05 Mar 2019 19:59 UTC

© Reuters/Benoit Tessier

A "radicalized" inmate has stabbed two guards in a prison in the northwest of France, causing a tense standoff with the law enforcement. The suspect was injured and apprehended during a full-scale assault on the facility.

The prisoner had been with his wife in a visiting room at the high-security facility on Tuesday when the 27-year-old stabbed two guards with a ceramic knife, shouting "Allahu Akbar," prison staff told AFP. The prisoner then retreated into another room and locked himself in with his wife, beginning a standoff with police lasting several hours.

"It was truly a murder attempt. There was blood everywhere. The family-visiting unit was a battle scene," a member of the prison staff said. Despite the apparent severity of the attack, the victims' injuries turned out to be non-life threatening, and no hostages have been taken.

Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet said that there was "no doubt about the terrorist nature of the attack," and that the inmate was known as an adherent of radical Islam. Police sources suggest he was radicalized in prison in 2010.

Unconfirmed reports from local news sources say that he has claimed the attack for ISIS, and announced his intent to "die like a martyr."

A journalist on site at the prison reported hearing multiple low-intensity explosions as police employed non-lethal grenades to apprehend the suspect. Half an hour later, a louder explosion and multiple gunshots were heard from the facility.

The inmate and his wife were ultimately both apprehended by the police. The two were reportedly injured during the assault operation.

The prisoner is currently serving a 30-year sentence for armed robbery, fatal kidnapping and "glorifying terrorism." According to local media, the man was in jail in connection with the death of an 89-year-old holocaust survivor.

Comment: UPDATE

The situation has escalated as prison guards block access to 18 prisons in France:

About 60 guards have blocked the Condé-sur-Sarthe prison in north-western France, the scene of Tuesday's horrifying attack, setting fire to tires and palettes outside the secure facility. The two guards were seriously injured in the stabbing, and the suspect was shot and wounded by police.

A local union leader at the Fleury-Merogis prison outside Paris told the AFP that "colleagues want to go to work but we do not abandon them, we do not send them to die." Footage from the prison shows that riot police have arrived on the scene and are calling on the guards to remove their blockades.

Additionally, the 'radicalized' inmate's wife has reportedly died from injuries sustained during the assault operation:

The man's wife, who died during the 10-hour siege following the stabbing, is thought to have smuggled a knife in to him during her visit.