A man has been arrested by police in the Paris suburb of Yvelines after his father reported to authorities that the man wanted to copy Thursday’s terrorist attack in Nice.
The man, whose age and name are currently unknown, has been under police surveillance for several days and is on the French anti-terrorism watchlist known as the S-File.
According to a report from French newspaper Le Parisien, the man’s father reported to police that his son had told him he wanted to “do as in Nice” following the terrorist attack that claimed the lives of three people at a church in the city.
The newspaper also states that the man often walked by local churches in the commune of Sartrouville, located in the Paris suburb of Yvelines.
Following the report, police quickly arrested the man at around 1 pm and he came without incident and was not armed at the time. His car was also searched for explosives but no material was found.
Another man, a 26-year-old Afghan migrant, was also arrested Thursday in the city of Lyon at around 11:30 am after brandishing a foot-long knife near a tram station.
The man was allegedly wearing traditional Islamic clothing and is reportedly known to French intelligence services for connections to Islamic radicalism.
Following his arrest, it was revealed that the man suffers also from psychiatrist problems and allegedly said that he heard voices in his head telling him to kill.
Another man in the city of Avignon was shot dead by police on Thursday after brandishing a handgun and shouting “Allahu Akbar” at officers at around 11 am local time and in Saudi Arabia, a guard was stabbed at the French consulate in the city of Jeddah.
The potential motive behind both of the incidents remains under investigation with French authorities demanding Saudi authorities “shed light on this attack.”
All of the incidents come in the same day as a radical Islamic extremist murdered three people at the city’s Notre Dame church and injured several others. The incident was later declared a radical Islamic terrorist attack by Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi.