Nearly a year after the deadly terror attack that saw three people murdered by a Tunisian national, another Tunisian entered the Nice Basilica and threatened staff while yelling in Arabic.
The incident took place on Monday at around 6 p.m. and saw a 26-year-old illegal migrant from Tunisia enter the Nice Basilica and start screaming in Arabic before spitting on the floor and then leaving.
The Tunisian migrant came back ten minutes later and threatened the sacristan, a Roman Catholic church official in charge of preparing for liturgical celebrations and other duties, Actu17 reports.
“The sacristan, who had been informed of the previous intrusion, approached the suspect as he began screaming in Arabic and spitting on the ground again. The man was threatening and he decided to trigger the emergency call button,” a source told the news website.
Police soon arrived and were able to apprehend the Tunisian as the church official had followed the migrant, keeping officers informed of his location. The 26-year-old was then taken into custody and was found to be intoxicated.
Nice’s Mayor Christian Estrosi commented on the incident, saying: “Thank you to the municipal police who, an alert button was activated, arrested an individual who allegedly spat, shouted in Arabic, and threatened the sacristan… Justice must be extremely harsh as we soon commemorate the attack of October 29, 2020.”
On October 29th of last year, Tunisian illegal immigrant Brahim Aouissaoui entered the Nice Basilica and murdered three people, leaving several others injured before he was stopped by police.
A report from earlier this year revealed text messages from the Tunisian’s phone that indicated he originally wanted to carry out an attack in Paris but was unable to get a train to the French capital due to the cost of the ticket.
Just three months ago, police arrested a 27-year-old man on a terrorism watchlist after he had made death threats at the Nice Basilica, shouting: “I’m going to come back, and I’m going to kill you all.”
The man is currently being held in jail until his trial.
Earlier this year in Nantes, another migrant, a 40-year-old from Rwanda, allegedly murdered a local priest. The alleged murder came months after the same migrant had set the Nantes cathedral on fire but later released from custody.