- Sagou Gouno Kassogue, 32, in custody in the French capital on Saturday evening
A suspect in a terror attack in Paris has been named after a backpack was set on fire and train passengers were cut with a knife in a rampage that left three people in hospital.
Sagou Gouno Kassogue, 32, was in custody in the French capital on Saturday evening following the brutal attacks at the Gare de Lyon.
Shocked train passengers watched him set his backpack on fire before attacking a security guard shortly after 8am.
“He first lit his backpack and then appeared to randomly cut people with an escalator,” an investigating source said.
‘The first victim suffered serious stomach wounds, but his life is no longer in danger.
Police investigators work today at the Gare de Lyon station in Paris after an attack
An asylum seeker from Mali injured three people in a knife and hammer attack at Paris station
Police investigators are working today to investigate the crime at Gare de Lyon station after an attack
“Two other victims suffered minor injuries and were taken to hospital for treatment.”
It was revealed that Kassogue arrived in Italy from Mali in 2016 and was granted a residence permit while submitting an asylum application.
He suffered from extreme psychological problems and was due to visit a psychiatrist in Turin this weekend.
Prosecutors in France said the initial investigation concerned “attempted murder” and that Kassogue had no criminal history or links to terrorist groups.
There was “no sign of religiosity,” the investigating source said, but security sources said he had regularly posted videos online expressing anger at what he called “colonialism.”
This included the presence of French troops in his native Mali fighting Islamist groups including al-Qaeda.
Researchers are particularly interested in a TikTok account – which has yet to be authenticated – in which Kassogue criticizes the French.
In a message dated December 2, 2023, Kassogue wrote: ‘RIP (Rest in Peace) in three months, may Allah welcome me to his paradise.’
Gare de Lyon, France’s second busiest station, handles around 150 million passengers annually and was packed on Saturday morning
A man apparently armed with a knife and a hammer injured three people in the attack today
There have been a series of knife attacks by violent extremists linked to Islamist groups in France over the past decade
Police investigators work at Gare de Lyon station after an attack earlier today
“Africa should never forgive France,” says Kassogue, who wears glasses and a beard in the Tik Tok video.
Laurent Nuñez, prefect of the Paris police, said: “At the moment there are no elements to indicate that this is a terrorist act.
“The suspect’s residence permit was issued in 2019 and remains active,” Nuñez said. “The investigation is being conducted by public prosecutors, with the assistance of the judicial police.”
Gare de Lyon, France’s second busiest station, handles around 150 million passengers annually and was packed on Saturday morning.
It was immediately evacuated after the attack and all services were cancelled.
It follows a series of knife attacks carried out over the past decade by violent extremists linked to Islamist groups in France.
In October last year, a teacher was killed and three others seriously injured in a knife attack by a radicalized Chechen national at a school in Arras.
And in 2022, a Chechen refugee beheaded Samuel Paty at a school on the outskirts of Paris after the history teacher showed children caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed.