The man suspected of attacking French soldiers outside the Louvre museum in Paris Friday is so far refusing to speak with investigators, French judicial sources say.
Meanwhile, the father of the suspect has told the Associated Press his son is not a terrorist.
“He is a very respectable man who never had a problem with anybody, he never had any sort of political views,” Reda Refaie al-Hamahmy told the news agency late Saturday. “His main concern in his life was his work in the United Arab Emirates,” he said, adding that his son had gone to France on a “work assignment.”
Al-Hamahmy added that he trusted the French judiciary system to find the truth behind the charges against his 28-year-old son Abdullah.
The Louvre museum in Paris reopened Saturday morning, less than 24 hours after a knife-wielding man was shot by soldiers.
Abdullah al-Hamahmy’s condition was “markedly improved” Saturday, according to the Paris prosecutor, after having been shot four times.
Al-Hamahmy reportedly yelled “Allahu Akbar” as he attacked soldiers outside the museum, injuring one of them.
The attack at an entrance to a Paris shopping mall that extends beneath the museum sowed panic and again highlighted the threat French officials say hangs over the country, which was hit by several extremist attacks over the past two years.
French President Francois Hollande said there is “no doubt” that the attack was of a “terrorist nature.” While he said the situation around the Paris tourist attraction is “totally under control,” he said it shows why increased security was needed in the country after attacks in 2015 and 2016.
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