Romans-sur-Isère: France launches terror probe after knife attack - BBC News
A Sudanese refugee is in custody after shoppers were attacked in the town of Romans-sur-Isère.
Police suspect there may have been a terrorist motive behind the attack in Romans-sur-Isère

French police have launched a terrorism investigation after two people were killed and five wounded in a knife attack in south-east France.

The attacker entered a tobacconist shop in Romans-sur-Isère, near Grenoble, and stabbed the owners and a customer.

He then attacked more people at two other shops before being arrested.

Prosecutors said the suspect was a Sudanese refugee in his 30s who lived in the town. Two other people have also been arrested, police said.

At the time of his arrest on Saturday, the man was "found on his knees on the pavement praying in Arabic", prosecutors said.

David Olivier Reverdy, of the National Police Alliance union, said the man had asked police to kill him.

Counter-terrorism prosecutors said they had launched an investigation into "murder linked to a terrorist enterprise".

The suspect was not previously known to the police or intelligence services, news website France Bleu reported.

On a visit to the town, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said: "This morning, a man embarked on a terrorist journey."

President Macron described the attack as an "odious" incident

Town mayor Marie-Helene Thoraval told AFP news agency that after leaving the tobacconist, the suspect went to a butcher's shop where he grabbed another knife before attacking people queuing outside a bakery.

The butcher's shop owner, Ludovic Breyton, said: "He took a knife, jumped over the counter, and stabbed a customer, then ran away. My wife tried to help the victim but in vain."

In a statement, the prosecutor's office said initial investigations suggest the attacker had "a determined murderous course aimed at seriously disturbing public order by intimidation or terror".

During a search of the suspect's home, "handwritten documents with religious connotations were found", it said.

Prosecutors said they arrested a second Sudanese man at the suspect's home and on Sunday revealed that a third person - "a young Sudanese man from the same household" - was also in custody.

Two of the wounded are said to be in a critical condition.

President Emmanuel Macron described the attack as an "odious" incident that further saddened a country already going through an ordeal.

"My thoughts are with the victims of the Romans-sur-Isère attack - the injured, their families," he tweeted.

Mr Macron promised that "light will be shed" on the crime.

This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post by Emmanuel Macron This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

France is currently in lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic. People are only allowed out to buy basic necessities or for exercise.

The country has been on high alert since 2015, when Paris was hit by a series of attacks attributed to the Islamic State group.