Barely three days after an explosion with several casualties in Lyon, France, the police have arrested four suspects today. Among them was the alleged perpetrator, said the prosecutor. In addition, three other suspects were arrested – reportedly family members of the main suspect.
Investigators had searched for a man after the explosion on Friday night in the city center in southeastern France with photos. The suspect had a paper bag with the explosive device in front of a bakery in the center of the city parked and then went back on his bike and drove away, so the prosecutor. The Paris counter-terrorism prosecutor’s office is conducting the investigation.
Media: Also arrested mother, father and brother of the suspect
According to the public prosecutor, the now suspected culprit is a 24-year-old. He was picked up at a bus exit. Forces searched his home. Lyon Mayor Gerard Collomb told BFMTV that the suspect was a computer science student and was previously unknown to the police. He is said to come from Algeria. The prosecutor’s office did not comment on this.
According to media reports, the other two suspects are the mother and father of the alleged perpetrator and a younger brother. He was arrested on Monday at his high school. Also a sister was interrogated, it was said.
Explosion by means of remote detonator
The facts were still unclear. Just the fact that someone in the middle of the day in a busy street such an act verübbe is sufficient for anti-terror investigations, prosecutor Remy Heitz had declared on Saturday. The explosion was triggered by a remote detonator.
In the parked Sackerl were metal objects. During the detonation, a total of 13 people were injured – including one child. Eleven people had to be hospitalized, but most of them were quickly released.
The explosion hit France shortly before the European elections. Memories of the terrorist attack in Strasbourg in December were also awakened in the country. The alleged Islamist Cherif Chekatt had opened fire in the center of the Alsatian metropolis – it killed five people, and many were injured. For years, France has been shaken by an Islamist terror wave. In total, around 250 people were killed
