Knife-wielding man attacks 3 women in Paris, says Allah commanded him to kill

A man armed with two butcher's knives attacked three women near the Paris Court at Porte de Clichy on Monday. Bystanders said he claimed Allah was commanding him.A man armed with two kitchen knives approaches a woman (L); the attacker after being overpowered by bystanders (R) (Photos: Reuters)A man wielding two kitchen knives attacked and injured three women, including a pregnant woman, on the streets of Paris on Monday, reportedly saying that he was being “commanded” by Allah to kill, according to bystanders cited by Reuters.The incident took place at Porte de Clichy in northern Paris, near the Paris Court. Videos shared on social media showed the man on the pavement with long, dark hair, dressed in a cream-coloured tracksuit and carrying two butcher’s knives.In all, three women, aged 19, 24 and 36, were attacked at Porte de Clichy on Monday. The man, seen in videos carrying two butcher’s knives near the Paris Court, was described as saying that he was acting on a command from Allah.A video, first released on Snapchat and subsequently verified by international news agency Reuters, showed the long-haired man walking along the pavement before crossing the road while wielding a large knife and attempting to attack a woman passerby. It remains unclear whether the woman was injured. The person filming the video could be heard telling people around him to stay away from the “armed lunatic”, reported Reuters.“When I saw him stab a woman in the back, I started shouting, ‘Come on, let’s stop him!’ Several people stepped in,” Mohamed-Ali Bouhadjar, 26, who filmed the video and posted it on Snapchat, told Reuters. “One person threw a suitcase at him. He dropped the knives. At that moment, I grabbed him, swept his legs out from under him, and we pinned him to the ground,” he added.The other half of the video shows the man in the cream-coloured tracksuit being pinned to the ground, with two knives lying nearby on a pedestrian crossing.According to Reuters, as he lay immobilised on the ground, he said, “It is Allah who commanded me.” He was soon taken into custody by an off-duty police officer.However, the motive behind the attack remains unknown, and local police are yet to verify the attacker’s identity. Police said his statements were “incoherent” at the time of his arrest.- EndsPublished By: Sayan GangulyPublished On: Jul 28, 2026 07:50 IST