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Suspect Held in Shooting at a Paris Newspaper Suspect Held in Shooting at a Paris Newspaper
(about 2 hours later)
PARIS — After a two-day manhunt, the French police have arrested a man they believe was responsible for shootings this week at a newspaper in Paris and at a bank headquarters just outside the capital, the authorities said late Wednesday night. PARIS — After a two-day manhunt, the French police arrested a man they believe was responsible for a shooting this week at a newspaper office in Paris and gunfire at a bank headquarters nearby, the authorities announced late Wednesday night.
Interior Minister Manuel Valls identified the suspect as Abdelhakim Dekhar, who served four years in prison for his role as an accomplice in the deaths of three police officers and a taxi driver who were shot by leftist extremists in 1994.Interior Minister Manuel Valls identified the suspect as Abdelhakim Dekhar, who served four years in prison for his role as an accomplice in the deaths of three police officers and a taxi driver who were shot by leftist extremists in 1994.
Investigators had not established a motive for the attacks this week, Mr. Valls said, but DNA found on shotgun shells at the crime scenes and in a car briefly hijacked by the shooter matched that of Mr. Dekhar. Investigators have not established a motive for the attacks this week, Mr. Valls said at a news conference, but DNA found on shotgun shells at the crime scenes and in a car briefly hijacked by the gunman matched that of Mr. Dekhar.
Lawyers for Mr. Dekhar during his trial in 1998 described him as unstable and perhaps delusional. He claimed to be an operative of French or Algerian intelligence services, French news media reported. During his trial in 1998, lawyers for Mr. Dekhar described him as unstable and perhaps delusional. He claimed to be an operative of French or Algerian intelligence services, French media reported.
Police officers arrested Mr. Dekhar in an underground parking garage in Bois-Colombes, a middle-class suburb northwest of Paris, on Wednesday. He was semiconscious and appeared to have taken a large dose of medication of some kind, said Agnès Thibault-Lecuivre, a spokeswoman for the Paris prosecutor’s office. Police officers arrested Mr. Dekhar in an underground parking garage in Bois-Colombes, a middle-class suburb northwest of Paris, on Wednesday. He was semiconscious and appeared to have taken a large dose of medication of some kind, Agnès Thibault-Lecuivre, a spokeswoman for the Paris prosecutor’s office, said by telephone on Thursday.
It appeared that Mr. Dekhar had “attempted to commit suicide,” Mr. Valls said. He has yet to be questioned.It appeared that Mr. Dekhar had “attempted to commit suicide,” Mr. Valls said. He has yet to be questioned.
Video surveillance footage from cameras in Paris and the region had been “indispensable” in identifying Mr. Dekhar, Mr. Valls told reporters. “All the facts today show his implication,” he said. Video surveillance footage from cameras in Paris and the region were “indispensable” in identifying Mr. Dekhar, Mr. Valls said. “All the facts today show his implication.”
On Monday, a man armed with a shotgun — presumed to be Mr. Dekhar — entered the lobby of the left-leaning daily newspaper Libération, fired two or three shots and fled. A young photographer’s assistant was wounded. The authorities say Mr. Dekhar, man armed with a shotgun, entered the lobby of the left-leaning daily newspaper Libération on Monday, fired two or three shots and fled. A young photographer’s assistant was seriously wounded.
About two hours later, several shots were fired by the same man outside the headquarters of Société Générale, a bank, in the La Défense business district outside Paris. Minutes later, an armed man stopped a car in the area and forced the driver to take him to the Champs Élysées. There he fled on foot. About two hours later, he fired several shots outside the headquarters of Société Générale, a bank, in the Défense business district outside Paris, the authorities say. No one was injured. Minutes later, he stopped a car in the area and forced the driver to take him to the Champs-Élysées. There he fled on foot.
Several days earlier, the same man had burst into entry hallway of BFMTV, a television station, and briefly threatened a top editor with a shotgun. Several days earlier, Mr. Dekhar burst into an entry hallway at BFMTV, a television station, and briefly threatened a top editor with a shotgun, the authorities have said.