Two Toulouse municipal police officers stabbed by man shouting 'Allahu Akbar'

The attack

On Monday 10 August at approximately 18:00, three municipal police officers on a motorized patrol in central Toulouse were attacked by a man armed with several knives on Rue d'Austerlitz. According to Le Figaro, the individual first approached the officers' vehicle pretending to provide information, then insulted and threatened them before brandishing two knives. The assailant lunged at the vehicle, gesticulating violently. When one officer in the passenger seat lowered the window, the man struck the interior with an object resembling an oyster knife. The officers exited the vehicle to attempt to subdue him.

According to the deputy mayor for security, Émilion Esnault, cited by La Dépêche du Midi, the arrest was extremely difficult. Officers confiscated one knife but the attacker was carrying two more. The man shouted "Allahu Akbar" several times during the assault. A video authenticated by a source close to the investigation and published by BFMTV shows one male officer struggling with the man, attempting to stop him with baton strikes, while one of two female officers sprays tear gas in his face. The officer eventually pinned the man to the ground with support from his two colleagues. The attacker was also transported to hospital, according to La Razón.

Injuries and medical response

Two of the three officers were injured during the confrontation. A police source confirmed to BFMTV that one officer was wounded at the elbow. The other sustained cuts to the arm and neck. A source close to the investigation told BFMTV that the blade passed very close to an artery. La Razón reported that the knife reached one officer's neck just beside the carotid artery, and that the female officer's bulletproof vest showed a large wound on the side. Both injured officers were transported to CHU de Rangueil university hospital. Their lives were not in danger.

Investigation and legal qualification

The Toulouse prosecutor's office opened an investigation for attempted murder on persons entrusted with public authority. The case was assigned to the Division of Organized and Specialized Crime (DCOS). The prosecutor told BFMTV that statements of a terrorist character had been reported but that the terrorist qualification could not automatically be applied.

The statements made by an individual during acts which are in themselves already most serious, concerning attempted murder on persons entrusted with public authority, cannot ipso facto allow him to be qualified as a terrorist, even if they necessarily require exploring this trail of the assailant's motivations.

The prosecutor added that only the investigation would determine this, justifying possible competence of the PNAT, the national antiterrorist prosecutor, after examination of the assailant's personality and background.

Official reactions

Mayor Jean-Luc Moudenc confirmed the attack in messages posted on both X and Facebook.

This evening, two municipal police officers were attacked with a knife while on duty on Rue d'Austerlitz, ensuring the safety of the residents of Toulouse.

He noted that terrorist statements had also been reported and that the assailant was quickly apprehended. Moudenc expressed support for the injured officers and their families, and wished them a speedy recovery. The mayor specified that both officers had been taken to CHU de Rangueil for treatment.