French Anti-Terror Officials Probing Fatal Stabbing Of Teacher In Paris

Authorities in Paris said Friday that they fatally shot a man who had slit the throat of a middle school teacher. The killing of the teacher is believed to have been an act of terrorism.

Anti-terror investigators arrived after the fatal attack on a man who is said to have shown cartoons of the Islamic prophet Mohammad in his classroom.

Early reports suggest the teacher was decapitated. French anti-terror investigators said witnesses reportedly heard the attacker shout “Allah Akbar,” or “God is Great” in Arabic, before the assault. Police said the suspect had refused to drop his weapon.

The attack occurred around 5 p.m. local time near a school. Unverified accounts on social media platforms last week allege a history teacher in the Paris suburb showed the cartoons, a taboo under Islam, in his class. His daughter, a Muslim, was allegedly offended.

The latest attack occurred the same day that Ali Riza Polat, an alleged accomplice in the deadly 2015 attacks, shouted “You will pay for this” in court after threatening a policewoman testifying in the case.

Two men said to have supported al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for attacks at Charlie Hebdo offices, leaving 12 people dead in one of the nation’s worst terrorist incidents. A spate of attacks followed through January 2015, including the taking of 19 hostages at a kosher supermarket.

A Pakistani man in September wounded two people using a meat cleaver in an attack outside the former offices of Charlie Hebdo.

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin had recently visited Morocco after speaking with French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Jean Castex about the incident.