Paris airport attacker had ‘drugs and alcohol’ in his blood, post-mortem reveals

The assailant tried to wrestle the soldier’s rifle away from her during the struggle but her two colleagues shot and killed him before he could fire the military-grade weapon, the prosecutor said.

Ziyed Ben Belgacem, 39, was killed on Saturday after he grabbed a soldier, put a gun to his head and told him he wanted to “die for Allah”.

A few minutes later, he hurled himself at three soldiers on patrol in its South Terminal, throwing a bag with a petrol can at the floor and wielding his 9mm revolver, said Paris prosecutor Francois Molins.

Police found on his body a copy of the holy Koran which teaches love of peace to all mankind.

An airport CCTV screen images shows a man on the ground inside Orly Sud terminal following a shooting incident at Orly Airport near Paris, France March 18, 2017.

Belgacem’s father was released Sunday and told France’s Europe 1 radio that his son was not a terrorist. Amal Bentousi, whose brother Amine was shot in the back and killed in 2012 while fleeing police, said, “My brother’s murderer was convicted but still for many families, this is not the case”. His home was searched in 2015 on suspicion of links to radical Islam, but no incriminating evidence was found.

Security forces opened fire, killing the man during the morning attack at the airport.

The man, whose identity remains undisclosed at the request of French law enforcement authorities, also associates his son’s attack at Paris Orly Airport with the man having “never prayed”.

According to Molins, Belgacem’s plans were unclear, adding that an investigation will determine whether he acted as a “lone wolf”.

Belgacem’s brother and cousin were released on Sunday after questioning by police.

He explained his son’s behavior as a outcome of using drugs and alcohol.

The 39-year-old, suspected to have links to radical Islam, apparently meant to open fire on passengers, a prosecutor said.

Officials say he was a radicalised Muslim who was already on the radar of police and intelligence services.

His father said: “He [Belgacem] called me at seven, eight in the morning and said, ‘there you go, Papa.’ He was extremely angry, even his mother couldn’t understand him”.

He then drove to the bar in Vitry, south of Paris, and opened fire.

The unit attacked at the airport was part of Operation Sentinel, which involves about 7,000 soldiers who patrol public areas in France, including high-profile locations like airports, areas near large tourist attractions and train stations.

The searches – authorized under France’s official “state of emergency”, passed after the Paris attacks – have been frequently criticized as violating the civil liberties of those searched and detained, and rights advocates have pushed the government to define “Islamist radicalism” more clearly.

Orly is one of two large global airports in the Paris region. Prince William, second-in-line to the British throne, and his wife Kate, who finished a two-day visit to Paris on Saturday stuck to their plans despite the attack.