Man wielding knife arrested outside Marseille Jewish school
Police in the French city of Marseille have detained a man who was wielding a knife outside a Jewish school and kosher market
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Police in the French city of Marseille detained a man Friday who was wielding a knife outside a Jewish school and kosher market. Surveillance of Jewish sites in the city has been increased while they investigate his motives, according to local authorities.
School security guards noticed the man visibly brandishing a knife outside the Yavne School and then trying to enter a kosher market nearby, where they detained him, a Marseille police spokeswoman told The Associated Press.
The children were briefly sequestered inside the school while police searched for any explosives or accomplices, she said. No one was hurt in the incident and the man's motives remain unclear, she said. The spokeswoman was not authorized to be publicly named.
Police towed away the suspect's car and cordoned off the area.
A witness said it was a rapid police operation, and described the area as a gathering place for people in the local Jewish community.
“When the students get out of school they buy sandwiches here, buy meals for the sabbath, and a lot of parents from the school get their coffee and croissants there and drink it outside. ... He saw this gathering of people,” the witness, who asked only to be identified by his first name, Laurent, told The AP.
France saw deadly attacks targeting a Jewish school in Toulouse in 2012 and a Paris kosher market in 2015.
___
Angela Charlton in Paris contributed.