Man who rammed car into police van in Paris was on terror watchlist, had gun licence
Man was placed on France’s so called ‘Fiche S’ watchlist after he was found to belong to a radical Islamist movement
Questions arose Tuesday over how a known radical Islamist who rammed a car into a police van on Paris’s Champs-Elysees was able to hold a gun licence.
Adam Djaziri, a 31-year-old who had been on a watchlist for radical Islamists since 2015, was killed on Monday as his car loaded with a gas canister smashed into the van on the French capital’s most famous avenue.
Two handguns and a Kalashnikov-style assault rifle were found in the car, while a weapons stash was found at the home of the assailant, who died in the incident.
Djaziri’s father, who has since been detained, said that his son was a licensed gun-owner, and a source close to the probe said he owned nine weapons including pistols and an assault rifle.
The attempted attack comes with France still under a state of emergency after a wave of jihadist assaults that have left more than 230 people dead since 2015.
Djaziri’s ex-wife, brother and sister-in-law were detained late on Monday after police questioned them at the family home in Plessis-Pate outside Paris. Djaziri’s father was also taken into custody, a judicial source said.
