Who Is Adel Kermiche? Normandy ISIS Attack Suspect Identified By French Prosecutor

Authorities in France identified one of the suspects in Tuesday's Normandy attack as Adel Kermiche, a 19-year-old who had been previously arrested while attempting to flee to Syria, the Associated Press reported. Kermiche was technically on house arrest Tuesday when he and another suspect took hostages and killed a priest in a church in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, according to EuroNews.

The Islamic State group has taken responsibility for the attack, which leaders around the world condemned Tuesday. "When a priest is attacked, it is all of France that has been hurt," French president François Hollande told reporters.

Kermiche had actually tried to go to Syria twice in 2015, according to Le Parisen. After being thwarted the first time, he borrowed a cousin's ID and took a flight to Turkey, where law enforcement caught him and transported him to Switzerland, then France.

He was released from custody this past March and given an electronic house arrest bracelet, Le Point reported. However, Kermiche had certain time periods during which he was allowed to leave the house.

On Tuesday, prosecutors said, Kermiche and a peer stormed into the Normandy church with guns, fake bombs and knives before slitting the Rev. Jacques Hamel's throat. Police responding to the attack fatally shot Kermiche and his fellow attacker, according to the AP. Another victim remained in critical condition Tuesday.

"I will not talk about the motives of these individuals," RTE News reported Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said at a news conference. "I cannot tell you more about the persons who have been seriously injured and who have been assassinated, for the simple reason that investigations are ongoing and the explosive sniffer dogs are carrying out their work."

The attack in Normandy followed a Bastille Day massacre in Nice on July 14 and a series of attacks in Paris on Nov. 13.