French police on Friday shot dead a man armed with a knife and a metal bar suspected of setting fire to a synagogue in Rouen, Normandy, authorities said.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin indicated on the social network X that the armed individual had been “neutralized”.
“In Rouen, national police officers neutralized early this morning an armed individual apparently wanting to set fire to the city’s synagogue. I congratulate them for their responsiveness and courage,” he said.
National police said officers were alerted early Friday morning that smoke was rising from the synagogue and came face to face with the man when they arrived.
According to the National Police Information Service, the man rushed towards the police with a knife and a metal bar.
An officer opened fire and fatally wounded the man, police said.
Rouen Mayor Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol said the man allegedly climbed on a trash can and threw “a sort of Molotov cocktail” inside the synagogue, sparking a fire and causing “significant damage.”
“When the Jewish community is attacked, it is an attack on the national community, an attack on France, an attack on all French citizens,” he said.
“It’s a fright for the whole nation,” he added.
Tensions and anger have increased in France because of the war between Israel and Hamas.
Anti-Semitic acts have increased in the country, which has the largest Jewish and Muslim population in Western Europe.
New York Post
