According to a source familiar with the matter, three people were arrested on Tuesday in Cannes as part of the investigation into the assault of a police officer on Monday morning. The individuals are part of the entourage of the man who stabbed a police crew in front of the Cannes police station.
“These are relatives, one of the people worked for him and another housed him,” said a police source, adding that the assailant owned “a small masonry business”. “We are trying to understand the motivations of the perpetrator,” said this police source, confirming information from France Bleu Azur.
The aggressor’s vital prognosis is no longer engaged
At 6.30 am on Monday, a 37-year-old Algerian national stabbed two of the four police officers in a police vehicle. They were not injured, protected by their bulletproof vests. The attack took place in a parking lot at the Cannes police station. The crew was preparing to go on patrol when it was attacked by the man, according to the first elements of the investigation. A first policeman was repeatedly hit with the weapon. Going around the vehicle, the assailant then attacked another policewoman, also stabbing her several times.
According to the Grasse public prosecutor’s office, which opened an investigation for an attempted assassination, the attacker was finally “neutralized” by a third police officer who fired. A fourth policeman in the cockpit fired through the window of the vehicle. “Hit twice”, the attacker was transported to the Nice hospital and taken care of by a surgical team. His life-threatening prognosis was no longer engaged on Monday evening, said the Grasse prosecutor’s office, which is responsible for the investigation. The national anti-terrorism prosecution did not seize it but has an observer role at this stage.