Apart from one minor injury to a police officer the attack appeared entirely in vain, and it was only confirmed that the incident was being treated as “terrorism” after a search of the body. He said Sallah described himself to police in 2013 as homeless and in France illegally.
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“He was found to be in possession of a mobile phone and a piece of paper on which the flag of Daesh was printed, as well as an unequivocal claim handwritten in Arabic”, the prosecutor said in a statement.
Police fired shots and the individual was severely injured, French government spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said on live television Thursday.
“He showed his weapon and shouted, ‘Allahu Akbar, ‘ before being shot down by police officers”, according to statement from the Paris Prosecutor’s office. The two masked brothers who killed the staffers said they were avenging the Prophet Muhammad for the magazine’s satirical cartoons.
Since the November attacks, Paris has increased its efforts at striking jihadist groups in Syria and Iraq, becoming the second largest contributor to the US-led coalition against Islamic State. Shaken by the incident, she said “it’s like the Charlie Hebdo affair isn’t over”, referring to the attack on the satirical newspaper exactly a year ago Thursday.
Police patrol at the Boulevard de Barbes in the north of Paris after the man was shot dead.
Hollande’s comments were made at a ceremony at Paris’ police headquarters.
Laurent Sourisseau, the editor-in-chief of Charlie Hebdo and cartoonist who is better known as Riss, told France Inter radio “security is a new expense for the newspaper budget”.
Separately on Thursday a French court sentenced a French-born Islamist militant in absentia to 15 years in jail for his role in recruiting militants to fight for the group in Syria in 2013.
Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins cast new doubt on the identity of a man shot dead by police in the capital Thursday as authorities seek to establish whether he represented a significant threat or was acting alone and without support.
The man later died from his wounds, officials said.
The two officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing, said the shooting came shortly after noon on Thursday, the anniversary of the attacks against the Charlie Hebdo newspaper.
French President Francois Hollande had just finished a speech to police when the attack took place.
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Police said the neighborhood in northern Paris was locked down after the shooting.
