The 32-year-old Malian suspect who injured three people – one of whom is in critical condition with their life hanging in the balance – at the Gare de Lyon train station in Paris on Saturday, February 3, was released from police custody in the evening due to his psychiatric condition, the Paris prosecutor’s office said.
His custody was lifted “following an examination of his behavior” which revealed a “psychiatric condition incompatible with the measure of restraint,” the public prosecutor’s office said when contacted by AFP. Currently, the man, who has been residing in Italy with a residence permit since 2016, is “taken care of in the psychiatric infirmary of the police headquarters.”
According to Laurent Nunez, the police prefect, the initial elements of the investigation “do not indicate that this is a terrorist act.” According to RTL, the man admitted to suffering from psychiatric disorders during questioning. Medicines to treat these disorders were also found on him at the time of his arrest.
The investigation for attempted murder has been entrusted to the 2nd district of the Paris judicial police. This attack occurred less than six months before the Paris Olympic Games, where 15 million visitors are expected in a tense security context. The Vigipirate plan had been downgraded to level 2 (“strengthened security – terrorist risk”) on January 15.
